


Enchanted//Charlie Weasley

by Kbredrose_2323



Series: Enchanted [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Other, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2019-11-16 17:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18098486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kbredrose_2323/pseuds/Kbredrose_2323
Summary: Charlie Weasley x OC) Evianna has a complicated past including an arranged marriage to a psychopath, who is now living in Azkaban for his crimes, a four year old son, and death eater ties. What will happen when a handsome man with the brightest red hair she had ever seen strolls into her life turning everything upside-down?





	1. Birthday Boy!

A frightening explosion startled me out of my terrible nightmare. My cheeks were wet, and my body was coated in an unpleasant cold sweat. The sheets remained twisted around my limbs, probably because I was squirming in my sleep. My long auburn hair was stuck to my face and neck. My heart pounded against my chest. I shivered. The room was lit by a single night light in the corner by Ian’s twin sized bed. The fragments of the nightmare still remained in my brain, plaguing me. Making up figures in the shadows.

Four years have passed, and I was still haunted by the same nightmare. The nightmare that told the story of my darkest fears. The fear of Adonis escaping Azkaban and taking our son away from me. On those nights, I would climb into bed with Ian, cuddle him close and pray. I would run my fingers through his auburn hair and imagine a life where we wouldn’t have to worry.

Another flash of lightning exploded in the sky, brightening the entire room. I took a deep breath, realizing the dark shadow, I had been staring at for the last five minutes, was only my robe hanging on the hook beside the bedroom door. I turn to my left noticing the glow of the alarm clock on my bedside table. 6:03Am. I grumbled as I sat up and pushed my back against the wall. My alarm would not be going off for nearly two hours, then I would have to get up and start my relaxing day off.

As I lay back down, cuddling into my warm comforter, another flash of lightning illuminated the room. Giving me a sense of security. I had always hated lightning as a child, but now that I knew it could be a nightlight in a dark room, I liked it. I closed my eyes, willing myself to go back to sleep. It took less than a minute for Adonis’ face to materialize in my head, his chestnut hair, hypnotizing blue eyes and I knew I was up for the day.

Damn dream

Last night I had pulled a double shift, so I could have the day off today. Which meant I worked sixteen hours straight and didn’t get into bed until a little before 3AM. I rolled over, flipping the switch on the clock, now reading 6:05AM, turning the alarm off. No need to wake Ian early today.

 As I fling my legs over the side of my bed I look over to my sleeping son. His stuffed green dragon still underneath his arm, even though he had tossed and turned in his sleep. By the looks of it, he had bad dream as well.

Poor kid

My eyes widened when I realized what day it was, then smile crossed my lips as I snuck over to Ian’s bed.

Happy Birthday baby boy!

Not really a baby anymore though

I kissed him gently on the forehead, making sure to not wake the birthday boy, before I tiptoed out of the bedroom and to the small kitchen.

I stretched my aching body, yawning as I did so. Bones in my back cracked, relieving some discomfort from my terrible night of sleep. My neck was tense, and my shoulders were killing me from work.

Coffee

I need coffee

I shake my head as I fill the tea kettle with water, placing it on the stove once filled. Yawning once more.

I sit down at the small kitchen table, laying my head on my arms folded on top of each other. I blink my eyes, trying to stay awake, but failing miserably.

Ten minutes of peaceful slumber had gone by before I was awoken by the sound of the kettle whistling. I rush over to the stove, turning the heat off and removing the kettle from the top. I hastily grab the coffee grounds, I had tied into a mesh bag, dropping them inside my favorite coffee mug and pouring the boiling water on top. It was too hot to drink right away, I would need to give it five to ten minutes to cool down before I could ingest it without burning the inside of my mouth.

I take the mug and place it in the center of the table, returning to the chair that was still warm.

-

“Mommy.” Ian taps me on the shoulder “Mommy get up.”

“Hi baby.” I say as I bring my head up from the square table. My neck twinging with pain from the odd way I was laying. “You are up early.” I mumble, blinking my eyes rapidly. I glance toward the little window over my kitchen sink, realizing the sun was out in full force. “What time is it?” I mumble, rushing over to the clock on the other side of the kitchen wall.

10:15AM

Damn

“I’ve been coloring while you were sleeping.” Ian smiles at me, handing me a rectangle piece of paper with a drawing of us holding hands. At least I think that’s what it is.

Looks more like two monsters with only one eyeball

Yeah, he’s definitely not an artist

“Thank you, buddy.” I lean down and kiss him on the forehead. “But I do believe you should be the one getting presents today.”

He smiles widely. “It’s my birthday today.” He practically screams. “I’m four years old now.” He holds up four fingers as he dances around the sofa.

“Yes, you are.” I laugh at the silly boy dancing in his Quidditch pajamas.

“Can I open my gifts right now?” He pout’s his bottom lip and places his hands together.

Can you get any more adorable?

“Sorry baby.” I say as I pick him up, kissing his cheeks “You can’t open your gifts until later.”

“But…” Fake tears begin to form in his eyes

When did you get so good at manipulating me?

He only has two gifts

“Fine. You can have one.” I mumble as I grab a wrapped box from the top of my bookcase.

“Yaaaaay.” He shouts as the green wrapping paper, with colorful animals, is thrown all over the room. His eyes widen, and a smile spreads across his adorable face. “The Dragon Book.” He shouts.

He has been begging for this book for months. A talented witch wrote the book and charmed the dragon’s to come to life as you read it.

“Please?” He held the book up to me, begging for me to read it to him.

“Fine.” I mumble as I take a sip from the coffee cup on the table. I gag when I realize the coffee had gone cold.

“Hold on.” He rushes off to the bedroom, returning a moment later with his stuffed dragon. “Now you can read it.”

We plop down on the sofa, him curled up under my arm hugging the stuffed animal close to his chest, and I read the book. The story is about a lonely dragon trying to find his way in the world. As I read the book the hand drawn dragon’s glide all over the pages. The hardback of the book warmed under my fingers when the dragon propelled fire, then cooled once he splashed off in a lake. In the end he finds a family and lives happily ever after with them. Little paper hearts fly from the book like confetti.

If only real life was like that

Once the book was finished, Ian smiled up at me. His unbrushed auburn hair sticking straight up in the air “Read it again!”

I laugh at the handsome boy. Saying “at bed time” as poke the tip of his nose.

 “What’s next mommy?”

“Now we eat a late breakfast, change our clothes, then head into Diagon Alley to do a bit of birthday shopping.”

“I want chocolate pancakes and orange juice.” He shouted as he ran to the bedroom to pick out his clothes for the day.

“Chocolate pancakes and orange juice, it is.” I mumble as I stumble into the kitchen, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

-

I quickly shower as Ian plays in the bedroom with his blocks and stuffed animals. He likes to pretend that the dragon is a good guy, who saves the block town from the terrible Mr. Piggy. Mr. Piggy is the one who liked to set the world on fire, and the dragon breathed water. Yeah, he’s got a vivid imagination.

I climb out of the shower, hastily drying my hair. Dressing in a red tank, long sleeve flannel, and skinny jeans. I step out of the bathroom to see Ian sitting on my bed slipping his socks on.

“Can I wear my green shoes today?” He asks, grabbing the shoes from beside him. They were his favorite because they matched the beaded bracelet I made him wear. I had placed a location spell placed on the band when he was a baby. A mother can never be too careful when it comes to the safety of her child.

“Sure baby.” I reply, slipping on my red flats.

-

We eyeballed around the whole town, stopping momentarily at the door of Ollivanders. It was just as I remembered as an eleven-year-old girl. Narrow and shabby with peeling gold letters over the door of the shop reading: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. I smiled at the memory of receiving my wand.

Ian made me walk around Magical Menagerie, to look at all the exotic pets. His favorite were the purple toads, and the white rabbit that turned into a silk top hat. Next, we made a quick stop at Mary’s Munchies, a new restaurant that served all sorts of different foods and treats. The sub sandwiches, shaped like submarines, were delicious as were the bubbling fruity sodas.

We walked around a little more before approaching Weasley Wizard Wheezes. The strange shop seemed to catch Ian’s fancy, as he ran quickly up to the front large shop window. The front of the shop is a bright shade of purple and orange, making the other shops dull and unexciting by comparison.

“Can we go in mommy?” He asked in his little kid voice.

Never stop calling me mommy

I nod my head walking to the door, opening it up wide for him to run in. The second Ian walks in I could see the expression on his face turn to complete wonder. He looked around the shop with his mouth wide open.

The shop was rather quiet, except for the displays flying around and making funny noises. There were three other groups of people walking around the shop. I smiled at a blonde girl that was looking at a bright pink display of love potions. She blushed once she saw me watching her. Suddenly a toy Quidditch player flew a few feet above my head, making Ian laugh and point at it.

Orange boxes with the letter W lined the shelves.

This place is amazing

“What do you want to look at first?” I speak to the small boy beside me.

“Welcome to Weasley Wizard Wheezes.” Identical twin men appeared from a platform at the top of the staircase. Both with flaming-red hair and abundant freckles that I could see from all the way down here. One of the men come prancing down the staircase in a purple robe, stopping directly in front of Ian and leaning down to his level. “Anything I can help you with young man?” He smiles. Ian laughs but doesn’t answer. That’s when the young man looks up at me with a wide smile and a twinkle in his eyes. The twins are probably close to my age, maybe a year or two younger than me.

“He’s a little shy.” I lean down beside the man, looking at my son. I whisper in his ear “Tell the man why we are here!” He smiles at me shaking his head.

“Its my birthday today.” Ian tells the young man, quietly. “Mommy says I can pick my present.”

“You have a very nice mommy.” The man smiles at me, as he stands and takes Ian’s hand. “What would you like to look at?”

Ian shrugs his shoulders “I don’t know.”

“We’ve never been here before.” I smile at the man.

“Well then Gred…” The twin joins us at the bottom of the steps “Looks like we have to show the little man around.”

“Aye, Forge.”

How does anyone tell them apart?

Gred? Forge?

Those can’t be real names

“Do you mind if we show him around?” Gred asks as he takes Ian’s other hand.

“No. I’m sure he would love it.” I yawn as I follow the men around the shop.

“This here is a headless hat.” One of the twins places the hat on his head and both his head and the hat disappear. He removes it and smiles down at Ian. “You like that?”

“Where did your head go?” Ian replies, looking very perplexed.

The man laughs. He looks over at me as a purple Frisbee flew overhead. It looked like a normal muggle Frisbee, except for the fact that it had teeth and growled as it past.

“What about this?” The other twin grabs a box from the shelf opening it and pulling out two ears on a string. “These are extendable ears. Here hold this one up to your ear.” He hands Ian one of the ears and moves around the corner with the other one.

I couldn’t tell what Ian was hearing, but he definitely seemed to be enjoying it. His face lit up brightly as he looked back at me. Then he laughed loudly, Replying with “Yes.” Into the ear.

“Mommy this is cool.” He laughs as the man comes back to him. That’s when Ian stops laughing and points up to the car above him. “What is that?” He asks with his mouth wide open.

“That is an Aviatomobile. It’s a flying toy car.”

“That’s perfect baby.” Ian loves muggle cars, he has tons of them back at the flat that he plays with constantly.

“Mommy. I want this.” He laughs watching the car fly around in the air above his head.

One on the Twins raises his wand and a box comes down from a top shelf. “Here you go.” He hands me the orange box with a giant purple W on all sides. “Just push the button on the bottom and it will start flying around.”

“How do I stop it from flying?” I chuckle.

“Immobulus.” The man says with a wave of his wand, and the toy car comes to a halt in midair, then falls down to the red head’s arms.

“Thank you. I’m going to have a hard time keeping him out of here now.” I laugh as I take the box from the young man.

“We get that a lot.” He laughs

“I bet.” I tuck a stray strand of my hair behind my ear.

“Forgive me for saying this but…” he looks at me then over to Ian and smiles

“I look to young to have a child?” I finish his sentence and he laughed. I was getting used to that question. I bite my lips nervously trying not to think of Adonis and the events that lead to me having Ian. “I guess I am a young mother.” I shrug my shoulders.

“Normally only Freddy can finish my sentences like that.”

Freddy?

oh

Now I get it

Forge and Gred make Fred and George

“How much do we owe you?” I smile

“Not a thing.” The other twin says from a shelf behind us. He was showing Ian something that must have been really interesting.

“Oh, no please. I should really pay you.” I say reaching for the money in my pocket.

“Really. It’s on us.” The one in front of me says as he touches my hand, telling me to put the money back into my pocket. “Call it a birthday present.”

“Thank you very much.” I say as Ian takes my hand and smiles at me.

“Look what Mr. George gave me.” He holds up a piece of chocolate. “He says that it makes your hair change colors.”

“That’s awesome baby.” I’ve never seen him this happy before. “Thank you both, so much.” I say to the men before me.

“Not a problem Miss.…?”

“Eva.” I say my name and feel a twinge in my heart.

I miss using my full name

“And you are George, right?” I ask looking to the twin who just spoke to me.

“That’s me.” He replies reaching up and brushing his red hair back. Revealing that he has one ear missing.

So, George is the one with only one ear

Make a mental note of that for next time

“Mommy can we come back here tomorrow?” Ian questions as we exit the remarkable shop.

“Not tomorrow, but we will definitely be back!” I chuckle at his happy face “What did the man say to you through the ear?”

“Mr. George said you were very pretty, and he asked if I you would go out with him?”

“He did, did he?” I jokingly reply.

What’s with all these guys hitting on me lately

I’m a single mom

What’s so attractive about that?

“I like Mr. George and Mr. Fred.” He says as he pops the chocolate in his mouth.

In a few seconds his hair went from the normal auburn, to a bright cotton candy shade of blue, followed by a pastel purple, then settling on a Ruby red. I laugh at the sight of my clown boy.

“Me to baby, me too!”

 

Yay, Fred lives. I couldn't kill him off, it was just too hard for me. He was one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter books. Next chapter I am introducing a few new original characters that will play a big part in the overall story. I hope you keep reading!


	2. Eva's Love Life

“Morning Eva.”

“Abby.” I smirk at my young blonde co-worker leaning on the back door of the Muggle bookshop, where I worked part time. I was drawn to the store initially because of the name, The Secret Garden Bookstore, my favorite book as a child. It wasn’t my favorite because of the story, but because my mother bought it for me as a birthday present. “Lucas here yet?”

“Not yet.” She mumbles and yawn’s at the same time. Monday’s were never her best days. Abby is not much younger than me, with beautiful golden blonde hair, and has a bubbly personality that draws people in. She’s one of those people who can talk to anyone, flirt with any guy, and make friends easily. How I envied her!

“He is the least punctual manager I’ve ever met.” I laugh, rolling my eyes

“Am not.” Lucas retorts as he leisurely strolls up the walkway, toward the door with keys and three cups of coffee in his hands. “I’m exactly on time today Eva.” The older man with brown hair that’s starting to grey, jokes as he places the key in the lock and swings the door open. “You are lucky you are one of my favorite employees. I would have fired you for talking bad about me behind my back.”

“Are you saying you want me to talk bad about you to your face?” I tease as I walk into the stock room / employee break room. There is a small shelf with a few cubbies for our bags, a refrigerator, and one round table in the center. “I thought I did that rather well already.”

“It’s way too early for sarcasm Eva.” Abby sits down at the round table, placing her palms to her temples.

“Another late night?” Lucas inquires as he closes the door behind him.

“Way too late.” She mumbles as Lucas hand’s her a cup of coffee. “Thanks.” She says to Lucas “Why do I do these things to myself?”

“You know you ask me that every Monday morning?” I respond jokingly.

“And you always give the same reply.” She rolls her eyes

“Don’t party so hard and you won’t feel like shit the next day.” We both say. Every Sunday night she parties with her friends at a local club, and every Monday morning she comes in with a hangover that would make me sick for days.

“You really should join me one of these days.” She states as she takes a sip of her coffee.

“And wind up looking that the next morning?” I point to her sad nauseated face as I take my coffee from Lucas’ hands. It’s become a routine every Monday morning for Lucas to supply the coffee, and it was much appreciated. “No thanks.”

“You need to loosen up a bit and have some fun every once in a while.” Abby forces a smile as she takes another sip of coffee.

“You really do Eva.” Lucas hoists a box from the shelf and places it on the table beside me.

“I’m a single mom who works two jobs and can barely afford food. I don’t have time to party.” I reply while depositing my jacket on the coat rack.

“Oh please.” Lucas laughs “I’m forty and still go out to a club every once in a while.”

“Strip clubs don’t count.” I tease as I open the box beside me, pulling out a stack of children’s fairy tales. I immediately set aside a book called “The good Dragon” deciding to read it later.

He opened his mouth and pointed to his chest as if he was offended. “I go to real clubs sometimes.” He snickers. “If only to pick up a one-night stand.”

“Come on Eva. When was the last time you dressed up and went out?” Abby straightens her back and stretches. “Or the last time you had sex?”

I scratch my head and smile. “I don’t know…probably before Ian was even though of.” I laugh at their shocked faces. To be honest I haven’t been out to a club since Jacqueline, my best friend from Illvermorny, and I decided to sneak out. That was when I was seventeen. “It’s not like I don’t find time to relax.”

 “Jogging is not relaxing.” Abby states.

I go to reply when Lucas holds his hand up. “Neither is reading a book with a cup of coffee.”

“Says the man who owns a book store.” I tease. Forcing him to sneer. “And yes it is.”

He rolls his eyes and huffs “Not the kind of relaxing you need, hon.” he winks at me.

“I’ve had a few one-night stands in the past few years. Nothing serious though.” I nervously giggle.

“But you need more…” Abby begins to speak but I cut her off.

“Both of you realize I work the night shift at a bar, right?” I raise my eyebrows in question “That’s plenty of dancing, drinking and joking around with flirty customers.”

“Yeah, but you are working while doing it.” Abby smiles “So it doesn’t count.”

“Exactly.” Lucas says as he claps his hands loudly making Abby jump.

"What was that for?" Abby holds her head.

Lucas smiles “That’s enough of Eva’s love life, now off your lazy butts it’s time to open the shop!”

Thank God

Abby grumbled as she stood, making both Lucas and I laugh.

“Come on Abby you can work the stock room while I work the register.” I gave in. Normally I would make her suffer and be miserable, but I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with her moods today.

She smiled once she realized she wouldn’t have to deal with any customers today. She would not be the most pleasant employee today, and it would be best to keep her far from any paying customers. “Thanks Eva.” She skipped farther into the stock room, and out of my sight.

I hastily exited the back room through a swinging door, then up to the counter beside the glass doors.

-

It was a slow day in the store, I had only helped three customers the whole seven hours I had been working. It was getting rather boring dusting and reorganizing the shelves by hand. If only I could use my magic, but this was a Muggle shop and neither Abby or Lucas were wizards. I couldn’t risk one of them seeing and having to obliviate them.

One more hour to go

I yawned as I picked up a stack of books that had been placed on the wrong shelves. I took my time putting them in the correct spots, making sure to dust the shelves as I went along. I placed the final book back in the mythology section when a book from the top shelf fell, hitting me directly on the head.

“Son of a…” I begin to say just as the front door opened and made a loud ringing noise.

God that hurts

I rub my head as I lean down to pick up the book that had just tried to murder me. “Greek Goddess of Love and her Mortal lover.” I read the title out loud.

Aphrodite the Goddess of Love

Adonis, her mortal lover

Suddenly I felt my heart start pounding, my blood boiling, and the need to vomit.

Can I never be rid of Adonis?

Must I be reminded of him wherever I go?

That’s when I realized what day it was. April 26th. The anniversary of my “wedding” to the snake. For the first time in the past four years, I had forgotten about this “special” day. The day that sealed my fate, took away my ability to trust, my free will. I reached out and held the book shelf tightly, as pictures of Adonis' face flashed through my mind. I swear I could see him standing in his prison cell, screaming my name, plotting to murder me.

It’s as if the universe had reached out its hand and knocked the book off the shelf on purpose, just to mess with my head. Literally.

I promptly fling the book on the shelf, not even bothering to put it back in its place and rushed to the bathroom. As soon as I stepped into the single stall I slammed the door then collapsed onto the floor, hugging my knees up into my chest.

I couldn’t catch my breath, and my skin felt like ice.

Breathe Eva, breathe

No matter how hard I tried, the memories of that day rushed back to my mind. My father forcing the Imperious curse, Adonis making me take the unbreakable vow, the look on the ministers face when I sad ‘I Do’. Everything. I remembered every little thing.

“Eva.” A knock at the door, followed by another one. “Eva are you alright?” It was Abby.

“Y-yeah.” I mumbled through the tears. “I’m fine, just a bit of a stomach ache.”

“This lady said she saw you take off running into the restroom.”

“Please tell her that I am fine.” I stand up, taking a deep breath. Compelling myself to forget about the memories of Adonis and the wedding. At least for the next fifteen minutes, when I would leave this book store for the day.

A few moments later I had successfully wiped the smeared makeup from under my eyes and calmed down. My cheeks were still puffy, but that I could hide easier. The taste of bile was in the back of my throat, threatening to come up again.

I leave the bathroom, heading straight to the breakroom where I promptly threw on my jacket and headed to the back door.

“You sure that you are alright?” Abby asked as she signed her time sheet, placing it back beside the clock where we had always placed them.

“Fine.” I mumble as I did the same with my time sheet. “Just a bad day.”

“I thought I was the hungover one?” Abby laughs as we go our separate ways.

-

I had less than an hour to eat something, change my clothes, and erase all evidence of tears in my eyes. Normally I would just head to my second job, grab a bite to eat, maybe read a chapter or two of my books, before starting my shift. But today, I decided to apparate back home where the baby sitter was watching Ian.

I had placed an anti-apparition charm along with a privacy charm, so no one could enter without permission on the apartment. I didn’t want any sudden, unwanted guests.

I apparated to the front door, knocking quickly. I could hear Eliza, the baby sitter, tell Ian to go to the bedroom. “Oh. Eva, what are you doing here?” The grey-haired woman asked as she opened the door for me to come inside my apartment. “Is something wrong?”

“Bad day. I just wanted to see Ian and have him cheer me up a bit before I head to my second job.” I answered as I stepped into the flat.

“Super Ian.” Eliza shouted, “Your mommy is here!”

Ian came running out of the bedroom, wearing his green superhero cape and matching felt mask. “Mommy.” He jumped into my arms. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” I say as I hug him back, kissing him on the forehead. “I just couldn’t stay away.”

“Are you going to stay?” He asks making me feel bad for having to go to my other job soon.

“Sorry monkey, I can’t.”

He pouts as I put him back onto the floor “But you came home?”

“I can only stay for a minute. Mommy just needed to see you today.” I take a deep breath as I look into my son’s deep green eyes, the only feature he got from me. The rest of him was pure Adonis, right down to the birthmark on his right hip exactly where it was on his father.

“What’s wrong?” Eliza asks as Ian runs around the small sitting room. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Maybe I have.” I laugh “Today is the anniversary of ...”

“Ah.” She replies holding up her hand. “I understand.”  And she truly did.

I met Eliza shortly after running away, she didn’t think twice about taking in me and Ian once she found out that we had no place to go. She is one of the few people in my life that knows every detail of what had happened. It took her a while to get it out of me, but I finely broke down and spilled my guts. She urged me to go to the ministry and let them know, however I didn’t want to draw attention to myself or Ian. I just knew they would make a spectacle out of me. I decided that it was better for myself and Ian, if we just changed our names and never speak of it again.

“I nearly forgot about it.” I smiled

“Hopefully someday, you will be able to move on.” Eliza leans in to hug me, just like mom used to do when I was sad. In many ways Eliza reminded me of my mother, not in her looks but in her personality. “Maybe meet a handsome fellow and live happily ever after.”

“I don’t think that will ever happen.”

“Don’t say that. You can’t become a lonely old spinster like myself.” She laughs “I went far to long without love in my life, I can’t stand by and watch you do the same.”

“Eliza.” I take a deep breath “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

“Mommy, can you help me with this?” Ian hands me his stuffed dragon and a small cape. “Nana Liza made it for my dragon.”

“This is adorable.” I laugh as I tie the matching cape to his dragons neck. “Now give mama a big hug, I have to get going.”

Ian squeezed my legs so tight, his face turned red. “I love you.” He says as he returns to his dragon, pretending that he was the hero and the dragon was his sidekick.

“I love you too.” I quickly hug Eliza

“Think about what I said.” She smiles as she opens the door. “You deserve so much more than this.”

What’s with everyone today?

Do I really seem that lonely?

I’ve been on a few dates in the past year

 “I’ll try and find a good-looking stranger at the bar tonight.”

That’s a lie

I laugh as leave the apartment feeling much better than I had before I came.


	3. Fire in the Devil's eyes

An intense smell of smoke floats through the air of the tavern as I stroll through the heavy front doors. It is crowded, noisy, and smells of sweating men after an intense game of Quidditch. The live band is setting up their equipment in the far corner beside the dance floor. The ten small round tables lining the dance floor, are refurbished from old whisky barrels and sit only four sometimes five people. The tavern owner had taken old style oil lamps, converted them to electric, then hung them above the wooden tables that lined the front walls. A rustic stone fireplace lined the back wall from floor to the ceiling of the two-story pub. The second floor was no longer used as an inn, but a storage area with a small apartment for the owner.

I wander through the small crowd, stopping when a gentleman with silver hair grabbed ahold of my wrist. “Scotch on the rocks waitress.” He says as he lets go of my hand.

“I’m not on the clock yet but I’ll make sure to let your waitress know of the drink order.” I respond as I begin walking toward the long wooden bar. Nestled in the back of the long room. “Sophie, the guy with the silver hair at table five wants a Scotch.” I say to the pretty redhead mixing a couple drinks behind the counter.

“He's downing them faster those I can make them.” She replies as she slides the two drinks on to the counter toward a cute young couple. I grab a brass mug from under the counter and slide it down to her. “Thanks.” She smiles “Its only six o’clock and the guy has already drank four of these.”

“My gut is telling me that it’s going to be a busy one tonight.” Zorella, the owner, says as she steps through the swinging kitchen door. Her gorgeous African skin tone was practically glowing. “And you guys know not to mess with my gut.” She chortles as she sets a bowl of pretzels on the counter beside the napkins.

“Well, it is May 2nd.” Sophie smiles as she pops one of the salty snacks in her mouth. “It’s always busy on this day.”

Our muggle customers wouldn’t understand the significance of May 2nd, but the magical customers most definitely do. We often encouraged our wizarding customers to refrain from using magic at all in the tavern.

“I get that people want to celebrate the war being over, and you-know-who being dead and all. I just don’t get why they get so plastered that they don’t remember the next day.” I laughed “Seriously, who wants to remember a holiday like this with a pounding headache and the need to vomit?”

“Eva, you of all people should know why people want to forget about what happened on this day.” ZO says as she dries a cup and places it under the counter.

 “Yeah I guess so.” I smiled at the thought of Adonis being locked up in Azkaban. I have been telling people that my husband was taken away during the final battle. That wasn’t a lie, not really. I just didn’t tell them that he was taken to Azkaban instead of dying. It's their fault for thinking he was dead. “But I wouldn’t go out of my way to get a hangover.”

“At least the tips will be good tonight.” Sophie laughs.

“I certainly hope so.” I smile “I wore my lucky shirt.”

“It’s only lucky because your boobs pop out of the top.” Zo laughs

“Yeah, no guy can resist you in that outfit.” Sophie winks. “Not many girls either.”

I gently smack her on the arm. “What can I say? I’m blessed.” I joke as I straighten my black, low cut tank top.

“You even put your hair in the double braids. I love it when you do that.” Sophie laughs “I wish I could braid like that.”

“Maybe I’ll teach you someday.”

“Mrs. I’m still waiting for my drink.” The silver haired guy shouts toward the counter where the three of us women were laughing.

Sophie rolls her eyes as she fills he brass mug with ice and the finest scotch we have. “This guy better leave me a big tip.” She laughs as she carries the drink over to the table.

Within the next half hour, twenty more customers had come into the tavern determined to drown their sorrows with alcohol. In the first fifteen minutes after clocking in for my shift, I had to help Sophie escort the silver haired man and his company, out to a cab. Luckily the group of men left a good-sized tip for Sophie. One of them even handed me a few bucks for calling the cab. We barely had time to clean the tables before more customers took the seats. Zo decided it would be best for me to stay behind the bar, seeing as I was the fastest at getting drinks out and allow Sophie, and the rest of the crew to work the tables.

“Excuse me.” A young man with brown hair and built well sat down on one of the barstools waving toward me.

“What can I do for you?” I ask as I wipe the counter in front of him off with the rag that hung from my apron.

He scratches his neck and looks around the crowded room “You haven’t seen a muscular guy with red hair by chance?” His thick Irish accent made me smile. How I loved the men with accents.

“Nope, but then again I’ve been stuck behind this bar for hours now.” I smile.

He’s cute

Looks gay though

Shame

 “Can I get you a drink while you wait for your friend?”

“What would you recommend?” He asks as he places his elbows on the bar. The front of his jean jacket opens up, revealing his wand in the inside pocket.

“What’s your preference? Beer? You like Scotch? Rum?”

“To be honest.” He grabs a pretzel from the basket “I don’t drink much. So, I haven’t the foggiest.”

“Okay, then I recommend the Barmaid’s special.”

“What’s in it?” He smiles

“Each one of us bartenders have a signature drink, Sophie has the Long Island iced tea, Noah favors the Rum and Coke, Zo likes the stronger more classic drinks like the Scotch on the Rocks, and then there is me.”

“And what do you prefer?” He bites his lip

Is he flirting with me?

“I tend to migrate towards the drinks that make me feel good. High in alcohol content, but tastes like paradise.”

He laughs “I could use a little paradise right about now.”

“Okay, then I’ll make you a little drink I like to call ‘end of the world punch’, fitting for a day like today.” I smile and point toward his jacket.

“Aye, it is.” He laughs as he tucks his wand back down into the pocket.

“Before I make the drink. What’s your favorite color?”

“Odd question, but blue.”

I swiftly mix the beverage. A little gin, rum, tequila, a few secret ingredients, topped off with soda. I quickly wave my hand above the glass turning the beverage into a deep shade of blue. The soda on the top makes the drink look like it’s bubbling.

I hand him the cold drink and watch as he takes a sip. “This is delicious.” He grins

“And dangerous. Don’t drink it too fast.” I joke as I turn to help a patron a few seats over.

After tending to a few more customers I return to the young man, noticing that his redhead friend had joined him at the counter. He was tall, muscled and tan. His red hair was short and spiked up a little from the wild wind outside.

“How you like the drink?” I smile at the young guy.

“The best drink I’ve ever had.” He replies with his Irish accent. “What did you call this?”

“End of the world punch.” I reply.

The red head laughs “Oliver mate, You really should try something stronger.”

“This is plenty strong.” The brunette man says

That’s when the redhead turns to me “Give me something strong.” He says then turns back to his friend. I look at his shoulder, noticing the head of a dragon poking over the top. Its snot was breathing fire and puffs of smoke.

Interesting tattoo

 “Any preferences?” I question compelling him glance up at me

“I like fire whiskey.” He smirks

“Okay. Then I’ll make you something special.”

“Great.” He retorts

I briefly take the fire whiskey, combine it with a couple different drinks including Cranberry juice, then top it off with a cherry that had been soaking in cinnamon whiskey overnight. I place the dazzling red drink in front of the attractive man and watched as he took a sip.

“Perfect.” He smiles and takes one more swallow “What do you call this?”

“A Dragon’s Kiss.” I respond as I wash a couple tumblers off in the sink across from the counter.

“Fitting.” The redhead laughs.

“I noticed the tattoo on your shoulder.” I point “You might want to put a freezing charm on that dragon.”

“Crap.” The red head smiles “I forget to do that every time.” He looks around the room and starts to grab his wand from his front pocket, when I stop him.

“Allow me.” I raise my hand to his shoulder and whisper “Imobulous.” Instantly the dragon stops moving.

“Wandless magic?” Oliver asks.

“Comes in handy when I’m in crowds of Muggles and have to freeze moving tattoos.” I joke and the redhead smiles at me “Happens more than you would think.”

“I bet.” The redhead says

“Eva my favorite bartender.” An older gentleman, using the assistance of his cane to walk says as he sits down at the end of the bar next to the two men. “Give me a blowjob.”

The two guys look over to the old man then to me with a funny expression.

“You know?” I step toward him “That’s getting a bit old. Ned.” I roll my eyes "And besides, you don't like that shot."

“Fine my love, you know me too well.” He jokes as he leans his cane on the side of the bar “Give me an Old Fashioned.”

“With an extra shot of bourbon like always?”

“You my dear are the best bartender this side of London.” The old man laughs as he turns to the redhead “Watch out for this one. She’ll steal your heart and drink you under the table.”

“I would like to see her try.” The redhead jokes

“I wouldn’t if I was you.” Ned smiles “She may look like an angel, but she’s got the devil in those eyes.”

“Yes, and the devil wants to come out and play tonight.” I tease as I bat my eyelashes.

Just try me

I can definitely drink you under this counter

“I’ll take that as a challenge.” The redhead smiles

“And I never back down from a challenge.” I reply. “Especially on a day like today.”

“Got lots of sorrows to drown?” Oliver says.

“Too many sorrows. Then again, many of us have plenty to celebrate on this glorious occasion.” I reply thinking of the significance of the day. If it wasn't for this day, I would probably be dead or worse. The thought of Adonis still being my husband made me shudder. I quickly changed the subject. “So, what would you like to challenge me with?” I ask the redhead

“What’s your strongest whiskey?”

“Have you ever had a shark bite?” I ask as I grab a bottle of green whiskey from the shelf. “Not many can handle this.”

“Nope, but I’ve had a dragon bite.” He laughs and so does Oliver.

Obviously I don't get that inside joke

“Pour me a shot.” The redhead winks.

“You want to join in?” I look over to Oliver

“Oh no.” He raises his hands and backs up.

“He can play Quidditch with the best of the best but give him one little shot and he’s a goner.” The redhead jokes.

“Quidditch player huh?”

“I’m a keeper for Puddlemore United. Well their reserve team at least.” Oliver answers

“Congrats. That’s not an easy accomplishment.” I reply as I pour two shots and set them on the counter in front of us. "I've always liked Quidditch, although my father refused to allow me to play as a child. Said it wasn't proper for a young lady to be flying around with a bunch of men gawking."

"I imagine you would have made quite the distraction." Oliver smiles 

“So, what’s this challenge?” The redhead asks.

“How about, whomever finishes the shot first has to pay for the others drink?” I laugh and ignore the calls from the other customers at the end of the bar.

“That I can do.” He replies.

On the count of three we both grab ahold of the drinks and down them, finishing at the same time.

“Damn.” He smiles “Double or nothing?”

“Okay.” I smirk “I’ll make it a double then.”

I could see him take a deep breath “I never back down from a challenge either.” He replies

“I told you to watch this one.” Ned smiles as I pour the double shots “She’s reckless.”

“I think spirited is the word you are looking for Ned.” I smile as I slide the drink over to the redhead. “Ready?”

“Yup.” He dared me with his eyes.

Again, on the count of three we drank the shots. I finished first and felt the warm liquid burn in my stomach. The redhead made a funny face as he finished the drink. “I’ll just add that to your tab.” I smiled at the handsome man who was looking at me in shock.

“How did you down that like it was nothing?” He asks.

“Used to it I guess.” I reply. I had tried to hide my troubles with Alcohol many times before. Once I even ended up in the hospital with Alcohol poisoning. Now my tolerance for any type of Liquor was exceptionally high.

“That drink was even too strong for me.” He shakes his head, feeling the effects of the whiskey already messing with his head.

“There are no drinks too strong, only men too weak.” I say as I set the shots beside the sink behind me. “And women are not weak.”

Ned and Oliver both laugh at that.

-

By the end of the night I had made over two hundred dollars in tips. Over twice the amount on a normal night. I was cleaning up the counter as my final two customers stood up from the barstools.

“I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.” The redhead smiles at me.

“I haven’t felt this sick in a long time.” Oliver leans his head on the bar. “Why do you insist on doing this to me every time we meet?”

“It’s not my fault you are a lightweight.” The redhead retorts.

“Do you see her? She’s beautiful.” Oliver points to me, obviously extremely drunk. “Like an angel.”

The redhead smacks him on the back “That she is.” He looks at me right in my eyes. “But like the old man said…She’s got the devil in those eyes.”

I smile “And as I replied before…” I pause as I grab the glass in front of the men “The devil wanted to come out and play tonight.”

“And so, it did.” The redhead smiles. “I’ve come to like the devil.”

“The devil likes to play with fire.” I laugh as I point to his hair. “And you are most definitely made of fire.”

God he’s handsome

“I’m made of fire too.” Oliver stands then immediately falls toward the bar. 

“Okay, lover boy.” The redhead lifts Oliver’s arm over his shoulders. “It’s about time I get you home.”

“Have a good night.” I look over to the clock on the wall

2:05 AM

“Or should I say morning?”

The redhead smiles at me “The names Charlie by the way.” He holds his hand out

“Eva.” I shake his hand. My fingers looked like a child’s in his large rough hands.

“Well it was nice to meet you Eva.”

My name sounds really good coming out of his mouth

Maybe I’ve had a bit too much to drink

“Maybe I’ll see you around again.” I reply

“For sure.” He smiles as he helps his friend out of the bar.


	4. Drinks are on me...Literally!

I apparated outside the address Abby had given me for the party. As soon as I land I notice the lawn was covered in empty bottles, just waiting for some drunk girl to trip over them. I stepped over the awful mess, and noticed the music playing in the background. An unusual style of pop and rock was blaring through the house.

As I step through the door I notice clusters of people sitting around, dancing and drinking. I stand still while a drunk guy stumbles by me, I barely noticed though. I was too busy looking for Abby. She had been bugging me non-stop for the past week to come to this party with her. After the hundredth time of her asking, I finally gave in.

Eliza had graciously decided to watch Ian for me, saying “You need to go out and have fun like normal people your age.”

After walking from room to room, I finally spotted her. She was standing with a few cute guys, drinking from a plastic cup and obviously flirting.

“Abby, there you are.” I say as I step beside my beautiful blonde friend.

“Eva.” Abby hugs me swiftly “I thought you’d chicken out on me.”

I roll my eyes “Me? Never.” I sarcastically answer. “I live for parties.”

Yeah that’s a total lie

“My dress looks good on you.” She winks. Earlier in the day she had given me a skimpy red dress to wear, saying it would look better on me than on her. To be honest, I loved this dress. It fit me in all the right places and matched perfectly to my black and red heals I had purchased a few years ago and never wore.

“Thanks. I like it.” I smile. “I think I’m going to keep it.” I tease

“Oh.” Abby grabs my hand, pulling me towards the guys. “This is Daniel, Jason, and Marcus.”

I quickly nod my head to the three young men “Nice to meet you. I’m Eva.” I say with an awkward wave.

“This is Daniel’s party.” Abby laughs obviously drunk a little. “He’s officially twenty-one.”

“Hell yeah.” Daniel was tall and skinny with shoulder length brown hair. It was obvious that he doesn’t brush it often. “You are hot.” He says before taking a swig of whatever he was drinking.

“Um. Thanks.” I respond uncomfortably

And you’re drunk

“I’d tap that.” He smiles as he walks away.

I was taken aback by that statement for a moment. Sure, I was used to guys hitting on me at the bar, but I was undeniably out of my element here. I’ve never liked parties, even when I was at school. Sure, I would attend them, but I usually refused to drink and left early. Which I’m pretty sure is going to happen tonight.

“Hi.” The shorter brunette holds out his hand “The name’s Jason, what did you say yours was?”

I shake his hand gently “Eva.”

Maybe there is one gentleman in this group

“Interesting name.” He smiles “Well Eva, what brings you here to this rad party?”

Rad?

Really dude?

“Well, Abby here decided I needed to get out and live a little.” I point to my small blonde friend who’s back was turned to me.

“Yeah you do.” She laughs as she walks away with the third guy.

“I work with her at the bookstore.” I disclose

“Ah, so your the hot single mom Abby has been talking about.” He winks at me

I blush a little “Yup, that’s me.”

“Eva had a one-night stand with a younger man?” He says using my name at the beginning of the sentence.

Okay dude

That wasn’t the least bit funny

I roll my eyes “I can’t be that much older than you.”

“I like the older ladies.” He replies, “The moms are especially the freaky ones.”

I snicker and shake my head “Yeah, I’m most definitely not going to sleep with you.” I bluntly respond.

“Oh, come on.” He laughs “You don’t know what you are missing.” He bites his lip, and winks at me. “I’m sure I could be of some use to you.”

“I’m pretty sure a drunk guy who can’t get it up, and makes bad jokes isn’t going to help me in any way.” I turn around and walk away before he can say anything back.

One down, a hundred more to go

This is gonna be a long night

I hurry over to the drink table, pouring myself a mix of soda and rum. I take a small sip before making a unusual expression.

This is disgusting

The cheapest booze you can buy

After flirting with a few more guys and downing two more drinks. I decided that these guys were most definitely not my type, and the booze was not good at all.

“I’m gonna get going now.” I voice to a very intoxicated Abby. She just waved her hand at me and kept talking to the birthday boy. Clearly, she liked him.

I hastily make my way to the door off the side of the large house when a tall man bumps into me, spilling his cup of whatever he was drinking all over my, Abby’s, dress.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” The man says frantically, while trying to wipe the drink off of my dress. Coping a feel as he went.

“Thanks douche, I really think you should stop touching me now.” I reply as I look up at the guy who dumped his drink.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t the devil herself.” Charlie says with a smile.

“I see the fire is out in full force tonight, and he’s starting off by pissing off the devil.” I reply with an obvious grin.

“Sorry about that.” He smirks at my soaking wet dress “You should really watch where you are going.”

“Me?” I question with my eyebrows raised “I’m pretty sure you are the idiot who poured their drink down my dress.” I exhale as I begin to walk past him.

“Where do you think you are goin?” he turns to walk after me. “Not home already?”

“I was going to stay for a little longer, but some idiot decided to dump stale beer on me.” I laugh as I brush some of the droplets off of my shoulders and neck.

“You we’re getting ready to leave before the idiot did that.” Charlie smiles as he picks up a napkin that someone had tossed on the ground. Handing it to me rapidly.

 “Yeah...” I scratch my head “These types of parties aren’t really my thing.” I reply as I begin walking towards the bushes. “I’m not into the whole, party until you’re stupid thing.”

“But you work at a bar?”

“I can handle drunk men, they are normally predictable. Drunk teenagers and younger adults are a different story.” I laugh “Besides I’m normally the one pouring the drinks, not the one doing the drinking and flirting.”

“Ah, well. These kinds of things aren’t my thing either.” He replies as he sets his plastic up down on a flower pot. “A friend invited me. It’s his brothers birthday.”

“Yeah I met the birthday boy earlier.” I laugh at the faint memory “He was rather drunk.”

“Normally is.” Charlie says with a smile

“He called me pretty then said he would tap me.” I close my eyes and shake my head. “Nice fellow, not really the kind of guy I want to spend my time with.”

“His brother is the same way. We went to school together, and I swear he was drunk through most of the exams.” Charlie laughed “Well, he was right about one thing.” I narrow my eyes in question “You are very pretty tonight. Even with the gross cheap beer all down your dress.”

“Thanks.” I tuck a strand behind my ear. “Good thing it’s not my dress.”

“Huh?”

“Oh. The friend who invited me lent it to me. I’m not the dress up and look like a slut kind of girl.” I shrug

“I like the color, although now that you mention it...” He smiles as he sits on the small stone wall. “It does kind of make you look slutty.”

"Thanks." I roll my eyes as I sit next to him on the stone wall. "Not only did you spill your drink on me, you felt the need to call me slutty."

"Hey, you are the one who said it first." He pointed out."And I think red is a good color for you. She's got good taste."

“She comes to enough of these parties to know what the boys like.” I laugh “and most of the guys inside are boys.”

“Boy’s not your thing?” he questions, and I could tell what he was thinking.

Do I come off as a Lesbian?

Maybe I am one?

That would be interesting

“Boys? No.” I smirk at his disappointed expression. “I prefer someone who knows what they are doing. Boys don’t do it for me.”

“And who does?” He smirks, and I swear his eyes glowed slightly.

“Men, preferably older and much more experienced.” I grinned as I swayed back and forth a little.

His face lights up with a handsome grin. “Ah yes. The real men are hard to find.” He stands in front of me. Towering over me by a good six to seven inches. The scent of the stale beer was overwhelmingly sickening, but I hardly noticed because the scent of his cologne was incredible.

“Know that from experience, do you?” I tease and step back a little. “Your Quidditch playing friend seemed to be man enough for you.” I wink as I move around a fallen branch of a large oak tree.

He practically chokes as he coughs. “Oliver? No.”

“Ah.” I bite my lip. “So, you are into the boys?” I suggest that he is gay with the tone of my voice. “Makes since why a grown man, of the age of thirty?” I question his age. “Would come to a party like this then.”

“What? No.” he stands tall “Do you think I’m gay?” he questions with his eye’s wide. “I’m most certainly not gay, and I’m twenty-eight by the way.”

“You were the one just talking about finding a “real” man.” I retort amused by the conversation. I haven’t know him long, but I definitely liked the way his face turned a slight shade of pink when he was flustered.

“You are teasing me? Aren’t you?” he steps around the branch towards me again.

“All of the handsome guys turn out to be gay. Take that from a bartender who see’s many attractive men.”

“So, I’m handsome?”

“Meh, I don’t know if handsome is the word, more like… different.”

“And different is a good thing?” He questions.

“I like different. Someone who can keep me on my toes, keep me guessing.” I smile. "So how many tattoo's do you have?" I laugh at the dragon moving around on his shoulder again. "Just this one that seems to never sleep? Or more?"

"This guy is going to get me into a load of trouble one of these days." He taps his shoulder and the dragon stops moving. "And I have three more. One on my left rib cage, one on my chest covering my heart, and one on my upper thigh on my right leg. You?"

"I've got three." I smile "Well, I can show you this one. I'm sure you will get a kick out of it. Even if it doesn't move like yours does." I slide the strap of the dress down my left arm, revealing a small phoenix tattoo on my shoulder blade. I got this one to cover up a scar, actually that's why I have all of my tattoo's.

"Why a phoenix?" He questions

"Because they rise from the ashes, reborn and given a new life. Something I know all to well." I awkwardly look to the ground and sit in silence for a moment before saying. "The rest are not in appropriate spots."

"So I'm going to have to find those on a future date?" He questions with a mischievous grin.

"Future Date huh? I didn't realize we were on a date now!"

“Let me take you out?” He abruptly says.

I was a little shocked at his asking so quickly. “And there you go keeping me on my toes.” I tease

“I try.” He laughs.

I tap my finger on my lip for a second and think about everything.

What if I have to run again?

I can’t have someone get close, not again.

 “I have a strict rule of not dating guys who know where I work.” I make up this stupid lie quickly and feel guilty instantly.

He smiles wide “I was kind of drunk. I just can’t remember which bar I met you at.” He was so optimistic, and good-looking. he tilts his head and his red hair moves to the side. Even in the dim light from the moon I could see the freckles lining his nose and cheeks.

I chuckle as I positioned my back on the bark of the tree trunk. “You seemed incredibly sober to me.”

He walks around the trunk and places his hand above my head. “I must be an excellent actor when I’m drinking.” He looks into my eyes and I feel my heart flutter in a way I’ve never known. I watch as he swallows, and his Adams apple moves slightly. “So?”

“Hmm?” I stop staring at his neck and look back into his eyes. His gorgeous deep brown eyes drew me in, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away.

“Will you go on a date with me?” He stares at me nervously.

One date won’t hurt

But not more than one.

“Okay. One date.” The smile on his face was huge.

“I can’t wait.” He practically giggles “I’ll stop by the place you work at that I don’t remember at all.” He jokes. “And we can figure out a day from there?”

I laugh and look into his eyes. “Yeah…” he smiles with a smug expression on his face “That sounds good.” I walk away quickly while laughing like a little school girl. Waving as I step out of view of any prying eyes. “I don’t work there again for a few nights.” I think for a second then respond “Stop by Monday night. It should be slow in the bar and I could use the company. We can talk about going out then?”

“Sounds like a plan.” He smiles.

With one last look at his handsome face, placing it in memory, I apparate away. Landing in the hallway of my apartment building. I prop my hand against my door knob and smile. I haven’t felt this excited for a date in a very long time.


	5. The Dragon Tamer and the Griffon Healer

I was standing on a ladder in the back room stacking a few books on a shelf when Abby appeared from the door way with a huge grin. “Something you want to say?” I ask as she leans on the inside of the door.

“You left the party early.” She smiles “But from what I hear, you didn’t leave alone.” She raises her eyebrows.

“What?” I laugh “I most definitely left alone.” I replied

“That’s not what Daniel said.” She winks “Come on you can tell me.”

“I’m telling you. I left the house alone.”

“Well that sucks.” She detaches herself from the door and walks towards me “Daniel’s brother Geoff said that his friend followed you outside and then you both disappeared.”

“Ah yes, Charlie.” I smiled at the thought of the handsome redhead man “We had met before.” She opens her mouth, but I speak before she does “And no we did not leave together. We just sat outside and talked for a few minutes.”

“Well that’s boring.” She grumbles as she picks up a book and dusts off the cover. “Did he at least ask you out?”

I looked down to her with a large smile. “Maybe.”

“What? When were you going to tell me? That’s amazing.” She practically pulls me down from the short ladder, so she could hug me.

“Yeah. I met him at the bar a few weeks ago, and we instantly hit it off.” I laugh “Then he ran into me at the party and we talked for a bit.” I paused for a second before stepping back up on the first step of the ladder. “Which reminds me.” I say as I place a book on the shelf “I will have to give you the dress back in a few days, he accidently poured his beer on me when he bumped into me.”

“Meh. You can keep it. It looked a lot better on you anyway.” She waves her hand at me “So you said you would go on a date with him before or after he dumped the beer on you?”

“After.” I confirmed “Although I made him feel bad about it before I said yes.”

“That’s my girl.” She smiles “So where are you going?”

“Not sure. He’s supposed to stop by the bar tonight and we’ll figure it out.” I shake my head “I don’t have much free time, so that will be fun to figure out.”

“You gonna tell him about Ian?” She asks genuinely concerned.

“I haven’t thought about it actually.” I bite my lip nervously as I step back off the ladder. “Should I?”

“Probably.”

“I don’t know Abs. The last date I had practically ran away when I mentioned that I had a kid.” I shrug my shoulders.

“Just see how the date goes. If it goes well, then mention Ian.” She smiles.

“When did you get so good with dating advice?” I tease. The girl may date a lot, but rarely kept a boyfriend around for more than a month.

“Hey. I know what I’m talking about.” She smiles “And it would be nice to have you dating a guy that already knows some of my friends. Then we could hang out more.”

“Ah. You always have an ulterior motive.”

She smirks and rolls her eyes before walking back into the store to help a customer.

-

I ate a quick lunch with Ian and Eliza at the park before heading off to the bar. Ian was begging me not to leave, but ultimately let me go after I promised to take him to that joke shop we stopped by on his birthday. He was obsessed with that flying car and wanted to go back and get something else with the money Sophie and Zo gave him in his birthday card.

The Stonewall Tavern was much busier than I had anticipated for a Monday, normally it was a few regulars and tourists on these days. For some odd reason every business man and old grumpy guy, in all of London, decided they wanted to stop by the bar on this day. The air was filled with the smell of old guy cologne and fresh pressed suits.

I was rushing around with a circular black tray, handing out drinks to a group of business men that were celebrating a big deal they had just made. I didn’t even notice Charlie walk in and sit down at the bar.

“Miss can I get another one of these?” A younger man at the table with the business men shouts at me.

I take his glass and smile. “Sure. Can I get anything else for the table?”

“Another scotch and the pleasure of your company.” The blonde on my left placed his hand on my butt gently, and I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll get right on that scotch.” I mumble as I grab hold of his wrist and peel his hand off of my butt. I look down to his left hand, noticing a gold wedding ring

Creep

I’m sure your wife wouldn’t like you flirting with another woman

I hastily make my way up to the bar, picking up a few empty glasses and plates along the way. I walk behind the counter, completely ignoring the customers waving toward me, and set the dishes in the sink. I didn’t even look up at the customers at the counter, I just filled the married guys scotch, watering it down a bit, and rushed back out to the table.

“Here you go.” I smile at the man as I hand over the cup. “Anything else I can do for you?”

He reaches over and touches my hand gently before winking at me. “How about you join us for a minute and celebrate with us?”

Don’t let him bug you, Eva

You need the tip these guys normally leave

“Sorry.” I pull my hand back “I would love to, but as you can see it is rather busy today and I have plenty of other tables to help.” I take a deep breath as he runs his fingers up my forearm. I pull back my arm and shiver. Something about this guy gave me the chills. “Enjoy your scotch.” I mumble as I make my way over to Sophie behind the bar.

“That creep hitting on you?” Sophie asks as she brushes her long reddish-brown hair off her shoulder. “He seemed to be getting cozy.”

“I swear I’m a walking billboard saying, “Creepy guys, feel free to touch me.” I make quotes in the air and laugh.

“Grin and bear it Eva.” Sophie laughs as she hands a drink over to an older gentleman sitting at the end of the bar. “Those types of guys normally leave a big tip.”

“And I need the tips, after taking the night off Friday. My check is going to be small this week.”

“Yeah, but you had fun.” She smiles at me “You really needed it.”

“Yeah I did.” I smile down at my feet.

“Miss can I get a drink.” A familiar voice says with a laugh. “I feel very ignored at the moment.”

I stop in my tracks and smile up at the handsome redhead “Sorry. Sir…” I step toward him “I’m not working the counter tonight. You’re just going to have to wait for dear Sophie here to serve you.” With a laugh I add “And I don’t feel like having a beer dumped on me today, so you can forget that.”

He laughs. “I feel the need to dump some beer on somebody today. It’s something I do regularly.”

“You should really get help for that.” I joke as I lean my elbows on the counter.

“Probably.” He replies.

“What you want to drink?” Sophie asks Charlie.

“Beer please.” He replies to her with a smile “Whatever you want.”

“I like this guy.” Sophie winks at me as she pops the top off of a beer bottle and hands it over to Charlie.

I laugh quietly, then grumble when the table I was just at waves me over. “Can’t these guys all get something at the same time? I’m getting callouses on my feet from walking back and forth to them.” I smile at Charlie as I walk over to the table, noticing his eyes following me the entire time.

“Can we get a round of tequila shots, and another Gin and Tonic for me?” The younger brunette asks. “Put it on my tab.”

“No problem. Anything else?” All of the guys call out their orders and I smile trying to remember all of them. I quickly make my way back up to the bar and fill their orders. Seven shots of tequila, a gin and tonic, two rum and cokes, a long island iced tea, whiskey sour and another scotch for the creep.

“So, it’s a busy one tonight huh?” Charlie asks as he leans forward on the bar.

“Yeah. Its normally pretty slow on Mondays. Sorry.” I shrug my shoulders. “Give me a few minutes to deal with these guys then I’ll take my break and we can go for a walk out back?”

“Sure.” He replies with a smile “I’ve got all night.”

It was a good thing that he had all night, because that table was keeping me occupied for another hour, before they finally decided to leave. Three more rounds of shots and two more scotches for the creep, left him horny and extremely grabby. After the third time of him grabbing my butt, I decided to walk around the other side of the table whenever I was over there. Didn’t stop him from copping a feel when they were handing me their money. The table left me a good size tip to make up for their friend’s grabby hands.

I took my break just moments after they left. Leading Charlie through the back door and sitting at a small table with three comfortable chairs placed around it. It felt good to sit down and rest my weary feet.

“You get guys hitting on you like that all the time?” Charlie asks as he sits across from me.

I shrug my shoulders “Yeah. I almost quit multiple times because of the guys grabbing me, but I ultimately decided that I needed the money more.”

“Ah.” He nods his head “People do lots of things for the sake of money.”

“Truth.” I smile. “So, you from around here?” Stupid question to ask, but I wanted to get to know him and it was a good change of subject.

“Yeah. My family lives in Devon, and I went to Hogwarts for school. You?”

I shake my head and smile “Nope. I’m from America. We lived in Ashbury, a little town outside Nashville Tennessee.”

“So, you went to Illvermorny?”

“Yup, best Wizarding school around.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.” He laughs. “Hogwarts is the actual best school.”

I laugh “Lets just agree to disagree?”

“I guess that’s fair.” He smiles. “Why did you come over here then?”

I obviously can’t tell him the truth

“Just needed to get away.” That wasn’t a lie. “I moved here four years ago.”

“And your family?”

“Don’t have one. My mom passed when I was twelve, my dad died in the war.”

Should I tell him about Ian?

 “Ah. I’m sorry.” He smiles “I don’t know what I would do without my family.” He laughs “There are lots of us.”

“Big family?”

“I’m the second oldest to a family of seven children.”

“Seven?” I blink my eyes “That’s a lot of children.”

“Add in a few more of my youngest brother’s friends that lived with my parents throughout school and it’s a real fun time.” He runs his fingers down the beer bottle in his hand and smiles “I’ve always loved the idea of a big family.”

“Me too.” I clear my throat with a cough. “But unfortunately, my mom couldn’t have any more children after I was born.”

My parents tried multiple times after me. Father really wanted a son to pass the family name onto, but when mom had her third miscarriage they gave up the idea. I guess that’s when father became the horrible man I remembered in my childhood. He never wanted me around, yelled at me when I was there, and forced me to take classes to learn to be a proper young lady. Sure, I knew how to play the piano and guitar now, do my hair in fancy ways, and which fork to eat salad with. The music classes were my favorite, but I hated the rest.

“That’s a shame. Siblings are the best.” He takes a sip “By older brother Bill and I are especially close. We used to do everything together.”

“Do you still?”

“Now we do. But after I graduated school, I moved to Romania.”

“Romania, what made you go there?”

“I was a dragon tamer for eight years before moving back home and taking a job in the care of magical creatures branch of the ministry.”

“Wow. That seems dangerous, but exciting.”

Ian would love him

“I’ve always loved magical creatures. I took care of a baby Griffin for a few months. He had broken his wing and couldn’t fly away. So, I took him in and hid him in my dorm room for three whole months. Once he was properly healed I let him go.”

“That’s amazing. Only few wizards and witches have been able to tame Griffin’s.”

“It was a little baby and needed my help. I probably wouldn’t be able to get near a fully grown one that didn't know me.”

“Still. It’s a great thing. I took care of dragon’s for years and it took them a long time to even allow me to get close. I could only touch one of them, and only when he was sleeping.”

“And that explains the dragon tattoo that never sleeps.”

He laughs. “Yeah. Even with a freezing spell, he always seems to break free.”

“That’s what you get for getting a magical tattoo.” I laugh before standing. “I should be getting back to work.” I say as I straiten my shirt and pants out.

“Not yet.” He smiles at me. “Do you still want to go on that date?”

I laugh “Yes, that is why you are here today.”

“I was just wondering what day would work for you? I have an idea of what to do.” Charlie runs his hand through his hair gently.

“Well, I actually have two jobs, so my time is taken up quite often.”

And Ian.

He takes all of my free time.

“I’m free on Friday night.”

“Friday it is then. That works out perfectly for what I had planned.” Charlie laughs “What time should I pick you up?”

He can’t pick me up from my place

“How about I meet you here.” I smile at him and he looked confused a little

“Okay?” He takes a breath “Six o’clock good for you?”

“Six is perfect.” I reply as I step toward the back door.

“Don’t wear a dress. A comfortable shirt and pants will do fine.” He laughs.

“That’s good, because the only dress I have is the one you spilled beer on, and it wasn’t even mine.” I laugh as I grab a hold of the handle.

“I’ll see you on Friday then.” He winks and stuffs his hand into his pocket, grabbing out his wand.

“Bye.” I was smiling so much by the time I went back inside.


	6. Fireworks

Charlie met me at six o’clock sharp at The Stonewall Tavern where we had decided to meet before our date. I smiled as soon as I saw him. His flaming red hair was brushed off to the side, he was wearing a blue and white flannel unbuttoned with a white t shirt underneath, and jeans that made his butt look perfect.

“You look beautiful.” He smiled. I had decided on wearing my skinny jeans with a black sleeveless lace tank top that I haven’t worn since Ian was a baby. The top used to be baggy, but now that I’ve filled out with a more womanly figure, it fit perfectly and was even sexy. I finished off the outfit with my brown leather jacket and matching mid-calf boots.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” I replied sarcastically. “So, are you going to tell me where we are going?”

“Nope.” He replied as he held out his hand. “Trust me?”

“As long as you don’t dump something on me this time.” I laugh as I take ahold of his hand.

He leads me around the corner into a darkened alley way. “Hold on tight, I’m going to apparate with you.”

I narrowed my eyes and leaned into his muscular chest. He wrapped one arm around my back and squeezed gently. With his other hand he held his wand. He looks down at me with a smile and a wink before apparating us away.

It feels like I’m being squeezed tightly against his chest. Not that I’m complaining, it was a nice chest. We land softly, and it takes me a moment to step back from Charlie’s warm embrace. Once I do, I notice that we landed just outside the arch opening to a large Quidditch field. Charlie takes my hand in his and leads me through the archway.

Inside there are seats lining the circular field, and tons of people sitting in them. Charlie leads me up the stairs four or five flights, then to a private booth where three other couples and four women sat. We stepped inside the booth and was greeted by a large gentleman dressed in a nice suit and tie.

“This is a private booth reserved for the Family and Friends of the players.” The man’s deep voice was intimidating. “Do you have permission to be here?”

“Yes.” Charlie says as he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out two passes with our names on them. “We’re friends of Oliver Wood. He’s the keeper for Puddlemore.”

The man examines the passes then hands them back to Charlie. “Go ahead.” He waves us past and we take our seats.

In the center of the field there were two teams mounting their brooms. One team wearing navy-blue emblazoned robes with two crossed golden bulrushes, the other in bright orange with two black Cs and a speeding cannonball in the center.

Charlie points to a guy wearing the blue uniform over by one of the goal posts. “Oliver is over there.”

“I thought he was just playing on the Reserve team?”

            “He normally does, but their keeper got hurt last week so Oliver had to step up.” Charlie smiles at me.

“Lucky for him.” I joke “Not that the other guy getting hurt is a good thing.”

The match didn’t last long, only a few hours. Puddlemore won the game 280-200. Charlie really loved Quidditch. His face lit up with every goal, as did mine. After the game was over, Charlie led me down to the players pit where we met up with Oliver.

“Good to see you again.” Oliver smiled at me

“You are much better at Quidditch than drinking.” I laugh “It was a good match.”

“Not too bad.” He leans on the edge of his broom and smiles at me. “So, what made you go out with this ugly mug?” He nudges toward Charlie.

“He dumped beer on me and I just couldn’t say no.” I tease Charlie. “Plus, he’s cute and I’m shallow.”

Charlie shrugs his shoulders then laughs “At least she thinks I’m cute.”

“That makes one of us.” Oliver jokes. “So, your broom is just over there.” Oliver points to a firebolt leaning against the wall of the pit. “I’m gonna go wash off this stink, have a fun date.” He waves as he walks into the locker room.

I raise my eyebrow at Charlie. “A broom?”

“Yeah, you said you weren’t allowed to ride one as a kid, so I figured I would remedy that.” He laughed as he picked up the wooden broom handle. “Besides it’s the only way to get to where we are having dinner.” He motions for me to climb on the broom. “Unless you want to apparate again?”

“Hell no.” I reply as I swing my leg over the handle and Charlie climbs on behind me. “I would not turn down this opportunity.”

“Thought so.” He chuckles as he wraps his arm around my waist. “You should hold on tight.” He whispers in my ear as he kicks off from the ground.

I reached down and grabbed ahold of the broom handle with both hands. Right now, I was happy that I had tied my hair back into a tight French braid, I wouldn’t be too happy if I had left my hair down, and I highly doubt that Charlie would have liked my long hair blowing in his face.

The breeze flowing around my face and body was cold. I loosened my grip and leaned back more into Charlie’s chest. I could feel his heart beating through his shirt, and his breath was warm on my neck. We weren’t very high off the ground, so when Charlie flew us above a small lake, my feet almost touched the water. I look back into his eyes and he smiles.

“Want to go higher?” He said into my ear and I nodded with a smile.

He tilted the front of the broom up and we went soaring through the sky. All the way up to the clouds before he evened us out and slowed the broom down, so we could enjoy the view.

The sun was just about to set, and I was at the perfect place to watch. The sky glowed with beautiful shades of orange, red, pink and even a little purple. It was gorgeous.

“Having fun?” Charlie asked as he pulled his hand around my waist even tighter. “You can let go. I’ve got you.” He reassured me.

I let the broom handle slide from my fingertips and I raised my arms as if they were wings and I was a bird. Charlie laughed, but I didn’t care. This was the most relaxing and freeing experience I’ve have in a very long time. I’ve been so tense and worked up lately. This was exactly what I needed. After the sun had set and was barely visible, Charlie took us down to the ground.

I look around and see nothing but a small blanket and basket lying underneath a large tree beside the water.

He set up a picnic?

Can he be any more perfect?

Charlie laid the broom down on the ground and took my hand. “Hungry?” He asks as he pops the top of the basket off and pulling out two small bowls with some sort of pasta, two wine glasses and a bottle of white wine.

“You have got to be kidding me?” I laugh “You can cook too?”

He laughed as we sat on the blanket. He raised his wand and mumbled something. Suddenly four lanterns were floating above us, illuminating the air. “Mom forced all of us men to learn how to cook. Although my youngest brother never got the hang of it.” I laughed as he poured the two glasses of wine and handed one over to me.

I took a deep breath and swallowed

I should tell him about Ian

I feel guilty not telling him

“You okay?” He looked at me “You look like you are thinking too much.”

“Yeah fine.” I smile and take a sip of the wine. “I just.” I take a deep breath. “This is all so amazing.”

“I try.” He smiles as he places one of the bowls of pasta in front of me. “And the night isn’t over yet.”

“There is something I should tell you if you want to take this any farther.” His smile disappears and is replaced by a look of confusion.

He cocks his head to the side and takes a sip of the wine. “Okay?”

You can do this.

Just tell him

He loves big families

“Eva?” He says my name with question in his voice. “Something wrong?”

“No. No.” I smile “I um. I have a kid.” I blurt out and he smiles a little “He’s four years old…” I take another sip of the wine and try to judge his reaction, but it doesn’t really change. “Just had his birthday actually.”

He smiled at me and touched my hand gently. “I’m glad you told me.”

“Normally I don’t bring the subject up on a first date, but I really like you, and I don’t want to not tell you, just in case of another date.” That was cheesy. “I shouldn’t even be thinking of a second date before the first one has ended, but …”

He touches my hand again and blurts out “You’re rambling.” He laughs “And I love kids.” I breath out a sigh of relief. “What’s his name?”

“Ian.” I reply. “Caspian actually. I just call him Ian as a nickname.”

He smiles again and lets out a loud breath. “Cute name.” He hands me a fork “And his dad?”

Shit what was I going to tell him about Adonis

I can’t tell him the truth

“Taken during the war.” I reply as I stab a noodle with my fork. “Not a subject I like to talk about though.” I look down to the bowl in my lap and take a breath.

“Hey.” He practically whispers “We’ve all lost someone during the war, and by the sounds of it…” He touches my chin and makes me look up at him. “You’ve lost more than one person.”

“Yeah. My whole life changed that day.” I roll my eyes thinking back.

“Were you married to him?” and I nod my head “How long?”

“Two years before that day.” I could feel my heart beat faster, and my head spin a little. I’ve never liked talking about Adonis, especially with someone who doesn’t know the horrors he put me through.

“So, your son just turned four?” I nod “That means he was born just around the last battle?”

“He was two weeks old.” I reply. “So, I didn’t fight during the battle.”

“Understandably.” He takes another bite “I bet your husband didn’t want you fighting anyways.”

He probably would have pushed me in front of a curse for fun.

Adonis never cared about anyone other than himself.

“I know I wouldn’t.” He continues. “He was a lucky man.”

I laugh and shake my head “If only he thought that way.” I breath out and he gives me a confused look. “The marriage wasn’t something either of us wanted.”

“Arranged?”

“Yeah.” I take another sip of wine. “My father thought it would raise his standing in the Wizarding world if I married someone important. It didn’t really work out the way he wanted though.”

“Sorry.” Charlie scratches his head. “I take it that arranged marriages aren't easy?”

“Not in the least bit, but I got one thing good out of it.” I smile thinking of my little boy, who was probably getting ready for bed right about now.

We sat in silence for a few moments before I spoke again. “So, I have an odd question for you.”

“Shoot.” He replies with a mouth full of the delicious pasta.

“You wouldn’t happen to be related to the two redheads that own the joke shop in Diagon alley?” It dawned on me earlier that they all looked a lot alike, and Charlie mentioned having a lot of brothers.

“Fred and George. Yup.” He smiles “The middle siblings of my large family. You know them?”

“I met them briefly.” I laugh “I took Ian into their shop for the first time on his birthday.”

“Ah. I bet he enjoyed himself.”

“Oh yeah.” I smile “He picked out a flying car, and they gave him some sort of chocolate that changes hair color.” I laughed at the thought of Ian with the red hair. “Ian told me after we left that George asked his permission to ask me out.”

“Luckily I got to you first.” Charlie laughs making me blush. “George has never been the lucky one when it comes to finding a girlfriend.”

“Poor guy.” I join in on the laughing. “He was cute, not really my type though.”

“Too young?”

“That and I’m not into the Peter pan type.”

“Yes. He’s never going to grow up.” Charlie laughs. “Got that just from meeting him once?”

I nod my head and set the empty bowl on the blanket in front of me. “They both gave me that vibe.”

“They both used to be that way, but after Fred got hurt during the war he changed.” Charlie takes a deep breath. “We almost lost him that day.” He takes my bowl and sets it back inside the basket. “But now he’s grown up, and even got engaged a few months back.”

“Lucky girl.” I smiled then jumped when a big explosion went off behind me.

Charlie laughed then pointed to the sky. “One good thing about Fred and George is their flair with fireworks.”

“You didn’t?” I mumbled as another explosion of color went off behind us. Followed closely by another, and another, until the entire sky was lit up with colorful circles.

He nodded then patted the blanket next to him. I scooted over to his side. He placed his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side as he leaned back against the bark of the tree. I leaned my head on his shoulder and watched the long and exciting array of fireworks explode over the lake.

Charlie leans over and whispers in my ear. “Can I kiss you?”

I turn my torso, so I was hesitantly looking up at him. The churns of excitement in my stomach made me gasp. He gently placed his hand on my chin and pulled me toward him. As our lips met, I felt like I was still flying in the air on the broom. It was magical, the way his lips united with mine. His mouth was so warm, and the touch of his lips softer than I could have imagined.

He is amazing

Best Date Ever!!!


	7. Willow Island

I awoke to the feeling of Ian jumping in bed with me. He quietly snuck up and climbed under the blankets, curling up to my side. He kisses me on the cheek before whispering in my ear “Mommy. Is it time to go to the park yet?” he laid on top of my arm and snuggled up to me.

I had promised him last week that we would go to the park the next day I had off of work, and that would be today. What I didn’t tell him was that I had planned an entire day at the Willow Island Zoo with Eliza. I’d never taken him to a wizarding zoo before, only a muggle one. To be honest I had only ever been to a wizarding zoo once, when I was nine or ten, with my mother. It was one of the few memories I had with her in it, and I was determined to make more good memories like that one with my son.

“Not yet baby.” I replied with a smile on my face “Eliza is going to meet us here and then we will all Apparate over to the…park.”

“Granma Liza is coming too?” He excitedly jumped up onto his knees and clapped.

“Yup. We’re going to spend the entire day, just the three of us.” I giggled at his excited face “Sound like a good idea?”

“Yes.” He quickly replied. “I can’t wait.”

“Me either buddy.” I laugh.

-

It took us a good hour to get dressed, eat breakfast, and find the stuff we needed for the zoo…park, before Eliza arrived at the front door. We quickly apparated, Ian in the middle squeezing both mine and Eliza’s hands tightly. As soon as we landed Ian looked up at me with confusion plastered on his face.

We were standing just inside the magical boundary of a large one-hundred-acre island in the center of the Irish sea. The island was named Willow island because of the hundreds of ancient magical willows that lined the island, shielding the inside from any prying eyes. To muggles the island looked like a deserted, dump of a place, but to us witches and wizards it was a safe haven for all sorts of magical creatures that have been hurt, neglected and abused. Most of the animals inside the zoo could never be released back into the wild, and the ones well enough to leave would never survive because they were so adapted to the life inside the zoo.

“Mommy. This isn’t the park.”

“Nope…It’s the Zoo.” Eliza says, and Ian’s face lights up as bright as a Christmas tree. “Surprise.”

“It’s a wizarding zoo, so there are tons of magical creatures here.” I say as he pulls me towards the entrance where we hastily payed for our tickets.

“What animal would you like to see the most?” I smile down at the handsome boy.

He tapped his fingertip to his chin and thought for a moment. “Ooh.” He laughs as he points to the map “This one.” He pointed to a large yellow leopard looking animal at the far end of the zoo.

“Ah. The Nundu.” Eliza laughs “The most dangerous animal in the whole zoo. It’s said that a single whiff of their breath and you will die.”

Ian’s face dropped, and he brought his hand up to his neck. “How about we don’t see that one?”

“Don’t worry baby. It perfectly safe.” I assured him as we walked toward the first exhibit.

The large bird was bright pink with yellow lined wings. “Mommy why can’t I hear it sing when it opens its mouth?”

“It says here.” I point to the sign on the glass window “That the Fwooper, that’s it’s name, Has a high-pitched song that can drive the listener insane, so it has a Silencing charm placed on it.”

“That’s good.” Ian laughed as the bird opened its mouth, but no sound came out.

“Look at this one Ian.” Eliza points to the cage next to the large colorful bird. Inside was a weird looking large dog with the head of a frog and glowing red eyes. Ian seemed a little intimidated and confused by the strange animal. He quickly moved on to the next cage.

“This one is cool.” Ian taps on the glass and the green monkey that had the face and hands of a frog, jumps from tree to tree.

“Awesome baby.” I say with a smile.

As we continue on, Ian leads the way with Eliza and I following closely. “So how do you like the guy you went on that date with?” Eliza asks as we stop in front of a strange looking cow with two horns.

I blush at the thought of Charlie and I kissing underneath the fireworks. “He’s pretty amazing.” I say as Ian moves to the next cage. “A perfect gentleman.”

“Is he cute?” Eliza winks “I bet he is.”

I blush a little “Eliza.” I pretend to swat at her

“I may be old, but I still like to look.” She smiles then gives me that look like she wants answers now.

“Yes. He’s really cute.” I smile

“Are you going to go out with him again?” She asks as Ian takes her hand and pulls her towards the small building with the words Reptile House, written above the door. We walk inside, and it instantly gets warmer. “Well?” She asks once we stop to look at a large lobster that was grey with green spots.

“I…I don’t know.” I reply as I take a deep breath. “I want to but…”

“No buts.” Eliza gives me a stern look “Did you tell him about Ian?”

“Yeah, and he said that he loves kids. It didn’t even bother him.” I smile “But I’m not sure I can go out with him again.”

“If you like him, then go out with him.” She stops and looks at me “It’s as simple as that.”

 “Simple. If only.” I roll my eyes “Nothing is simple in my life.”

“Just give it a try. You never know what might happen.” She touches my hand like a mother would.

“Eliza, you know very well that no sort of relationship can happen with me.” I reply as Ian points out another lizard type animal. “I mean. Technically I’m still married.”

“To a psychopath who’s imprisoned in Azkaban.” She replies sarcastically.

“Exactly.” I gulp loudly “And I cannot tell him about that...”

“Maybe he will understand.” Eliza smiles “Godric knows you need a little fun in your life.”

“Liza where is it?” Ian asks as he leans over the railing to look closer into the glass window. Inside was a large tree with bright green leaves.

She looks inside for a moment before pointing to a stick propped up against one of the branches. “Right there.”

“That’s a stick.” I laugh

“No, it’s not Eva.” She points again. “That’s a Bowtruckle.”

I look harder this time, and suddenly I am staring into the eyes of a small creature that looks sort of like a praying mantis, but with leaves coming out of it’s head and long sharp fingers.

“I see it now.” Ian smiles as the animal jumps from one branch to another.

We exit the hot building and the breeze whips through my long hair, cooling me down a bit. Outside the reptile house was a large fenced in area with a strange rabbit looking animal with pale grey skin, large webbed feet, a long neck and bulging blue eyes. The sign says it is a Mooncalf.

After leaving the odd animal, we make our way around the corner to the bird exhibit. The first flying creature I notice is called an Augurey. It sat inside a tear-shaped nest with thorns all around the opening. I could barely see it’s head, but it looked like a green and black vulture with a very sharp beak. The Swooping Evil was next. The distinct greenish blue wings that resembled a butterfly, and the large head that reminded me of a snake. It flew around the cage as if it was looking for a target or prey to pounce on. The spikes on the tips of it’s wings were sharp and ready to dig into something fleshy.

“Go on another date with him.” Eliza smiles at me “What harm could it do to have a little fun with a guy you like?”

“I guess.” I smile with a faint blush in my cheeks. “Its not like he is awful.”

He’s actually quite perfect

“You do like him?” Eliza looks at me as I bite my lip.

“So much.” I sigh “That date was perfect.”

“Mommy…” Ian pulls me toward a large tank full of seahorses with wings. He taps on the glass and one of the green animals starts to fly in the air, making Ian laugh loudly. “What about this?” He pulls me toward another tank full of murky water that you could barely see though. That’s when a small, horned, pale green creature floated next to the glass with its teeth showing and growling at us.

“Yeah. Let’s stay away from the Grindylow’s. They aren’t friendly.” Eliza steers Ian towards another cage quickly.

“Evianna.” Eliza uses my full name to get my attention. “Promise me that you will give this guy a chance and not push him away.”

“I…”

“Promise!” She practically demands

“Yes. I promise I will give him a chance.” I roll my eyes like a teenager who was annoyed.

“Perfect.” She replies as we reach the cage of the leopard Ian had originally wanted to see.

“Are you sure it can’t hurt us?” Ian ducks behind my legs and holds tight.

“I’m sure baby. It can’t even see us.” I point to the glass window. “This window here is see through to us, but the other side is like a mirror. The Nundu can’t see through it.”

“Cool.” Ian smiles as he leans up against the glass, no longer frightened. “Look at it’s spots.” He points to the black spots lining the cat like animals back.

We quickly make it through the next six exhibits without speaking, other than the occasional “That’s cool.” Comment from Ian. When we stop next, Ian’s face lights up again. There was a tank full of soft furry, round animals that had a large sign saying, “Cuddle me.” Plastered on the front of the glass. Ian looked at me with question and I nodded my head laughing.

“What one would you like to hold young man?” The woman standing beside the tank leaned down to Ian’s level. He pointed to the one directly in front of him with large green eyes. She pulled out the round animal…creature…whatever it is and set it in Ian’s arms. He immediately hugged it tightly and it squealed. It reminded me of a stuffed animal I had as a child but only more lively.

“Can I take it home?” Ian asked the woman

She laughed “Sorry hon these guys can’t leave the safety of the Zoo.”

He pouted but quickly began to smile again, once the animal snuggled up to his cheek. It took us a good half hour of bribing him with the promise of Ice Cream, to let go of the animal. “I want chocolate…no vanilla…no swirl.” He smiled as we skipped over to the ice cream stand.

“Two swirl cones and one vanilla please.” Eliza says to the man behind the counter and hand’s him the money. The man quickly hand’s back her change and the cones.

We sat at a bench beside the man’s ice cream cart and enjoyed our cones.

“So, what does this guy look like?” Eliza winks at me

“What’s with the sudden interest in my love life.” I replied back.

“I bet he’s a blonde.” Eliza laughs as she licks the vanilla ice cream.

“Nope. He has the brightest red hair I have ever seen.” I smile “And the freckles to match.”

Ian takes a lick of his ice cream before looking up at me “Who does?”

I look at Eliza and take a deep breath. “The guy mommy went on a date with a few days ago. You know. The night you spent the night at Eliza’s.”

“Okay.” Is all he said in reply. Maybe his ice cream was more interesting than my love life. I laughed at the boy with chocolate ice cream all over his face and even on the tip of his nose.

“Who wants to go see the unicorn’s?” Eliza practically shouts, and Ian jumps up from his seat, waving his hand energetically.

“Me.” He says loudly. “I do.”

We hastily walk towards the horse stable, striding past a cage with a large ferret creature leaning against the glass. It was muttering all sorts of profound things, including insults at the large man standing beside it’s cage. I stopped in my tracks when it said, “You’ll never be rid of me.” In the creepiest voice imaginable. “Useless.” It continued “Worthless.”

It had been a long time since I’ve felt that panicked, that weak. My mind instantly went to Adonis and the way he used to belittle me, and call me worthless, all the time. I swear he used the word useless as a nickname for me. The thing that got me the most was the creature saying, “You’ll never be rid of me.” That was the thing that made me want to puke. Made goosebumps run up my spine. It’s as if Adonis was standing behind me.

Eliza noticed the fear in my eyes and quickly grabbed my hand, pulling me toward her and Ian. “Eva. You alright?” She asked

I nod my head but don’t look up at her. “Fine.”

“That animal is called a Jarvey. It spits out insults like that all the time. That’s just what it does.” She reassures me. “It wasn’t even speaking to you. Just to the guy standing in front of the cage, mocking it.” I let out a sigh of relief, along with a small tear in the corner of my eyes.

I’m not any better than I was four years ago

Will I ever be rid of him?

“Mommy, look.” Ian takes my hand and snaps me out of my panic. “It’s a unicorn.” He pulls me as hard as he possibly could. “Look.”

I instantly smile at the Adonis look alike.

Never turn out like your father

Stay this sweet forever

Eliza takes my other hand and walks with me to the stable with the three white horses. They each had a horn sticking out of their foreheads. Two of them had a distinct golden color to their coat of hair, telling me that they were still young. The eldest one was pure white, like an angel.

“The foal’s like people.” A man standing beside the cage says to Ian “So you can pet them.” Ian sticks his hand out and one of the young one’s touches his hand. “The older one is pretty skittish though.”

I looked to the back of the pen and noticed the beautiful creature was staring directly at me, as if it could see the hurt in my eyes. Ian continued to play with the younger foals, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away from the older one. Slowly, the white unicorn made its way up to the fence and directly in front of me. Lifting it’s head up and over the fence.

“She must like you.” The man smiles at me “She doesn’t do that often. Not since she was hurt anyway.”

“Hurt?” I ask, not looking away from the unicorn.

“Attacked a few years back by a wolf, at least that's what we think got her.” He points to her backside where three large, deep wounds were clear as day. “She hasn’t even let me touch her, and I’ve been working with her for two years now.” He laughs “It’s been said that they connect to people on a spiritual level, to people like them.” He looks at me with sorrow. "She must be able to see something in you that she see's in herself."

I didn’t reply, I just knew why she was letting me touch her. She was feeling hurt, scared of being attacked, sick of feeling different, just like me. “You will be okay.” I say to the beautiful creature as I pet it’s nose gently. I think I was talking more to myself than the animal. “In time you will heal, feel love again, and move on. No one can harm you now.” She nuzzled against my fingers one more time before a tear fell from her beautiful baby blue eyes. She was telling me the same thing back, just without speaking the words.

You will be okay.

No one can harm you

I AM SAFE


	8. The Market

Lucas had only scheduled me for a half shift today, which meant I only worked until noon. Occasionally he would have to cut hours to make up for the slow work weeks. I loved these days. I would have five whole hours to myself before I was to be at the tavern for my shift. I took this opportunity to wander around a local market that was set up in Diagon Alley.

It was here several years ago that I discovered an exotic fruit that was a mix between an apple and a strawberry. I wandered through the market eating it, juice dribbling down my arm. There can be no shame when good fruit is involved. There is no better place to get fresh tomatoes than right here in The Market. The vendors usually have samples for you to try and they are some of the most flavorful tomatoes you’ll taste anywhere. There’s something amazing about homegrown tomatoes.

The market is filled with flowers, fish, local spices and foods. You can find vendors cooking up just about anything. I tried an interesting assortment, including beautiful mushrooms and dumplings. You can pick up a selection of local pastries, baked goods and honey. You can also shop for jewelry and other handcrafted items and listen to live music.

The best types of vendors are the magical ones. There was a wide assortment of exotic pets, magical trinkets, colorful robes, and even the occasional witch teaching fun spells and charms. I stopped and listened to one teaching a spell to change your makeup with just the wave of your wand.

I could use that

I slowly wandered through the market, stopping occasionally to look at a trinket, but ultimately putting the item back and walking away. I stopped in front of a vendor selling honey roasted nuts. Inside the case there was a tiny green dragon breathing fire on the nuts.

“Cool isn’t it?” I hear a familiar voice from behind me

“I seem to bump into you in the oddest of places.” I smile as I turn to see Charlie’s flaming red hair. Today he was wearing a formal robe and tie, which made him look very handsome. “What’s with the suit?” I laugh as the vendor hand’s me a bag of the nuts.

“I’m here on a professional capacity.” He smiles

“The ministry is checking out the markets now?” I question

“Only the vendors selling the exotic pets. I have to check to make sure their licenses are up to date.”

“That sounds very boring.” I laugh as I take a bite of the delicious nut before holding the container out for Charlie. He graciously takes one and pops it in his mouth.

“Quite.” He replies, “My day just got a lot more interesting though.” He winks at me and I can feel my cheeks burning.

“I’m not that interesting.” I smile and push a stray hair out of my face.

He stops in front of a small restaurant “Care to have lunch with me?”

“Sure. I have a little bit of time to kill before heading to work.”

“Do you work every day?” He questions as he opens the door for me to enter. “Ladies first.”

“Thanks.” I reply as I pass him “I don’t work all the time.” I laugh

“Seems like it.”

“I take a few days off to relax.” I roll my eyes as we take our seats in a booth by the door. “Just so happens that I went to the Zoo last week.”

“Willow Island?” He asks as the waiter brings us waters and takes our orders.

“Yeah. It was a lot of fun. I haven’t been to a zoo since I was eight or nine.” I laugh.

“I worked there for the summer after I graduated from Hogwarts, before I left for Romania.” He smiled “Gave me a chance to work with a few magical creatures before moving up to dragons.”

I laugh “I can’t imagine you, big old dragon tamer, working with flying seahorses and fire crabs.”

“Hey, this was before I became a dragon tamer. I had to work my way up to it.” He smiles and his face glows “It was what I needed to do before I could move on to what I’ve wanted.”

“So, being a dragon tamer was always the dream?” I ask as I take a sip of water

Playing with fire sounds like an interesting dream!

“No. Actually I could have played Quidditch professionally, I was the Captain for Gryffindor’s Quidditch team. Many people were disappointed when I decided to work with dragon’s instead.”

“Really?” I was surprised. I noticed how good he was at handling a broom but wouldn’t have guessed.

“What about you? What’s your dream?”

I smile and think hard. “A singer.” I reply with a slight blush.

“You sing?” He questions

“Yeah. I do a few sets a month at the tavern with a small local band. Whenever their lead singer can’t make it. Which happens about once a week.” I smile “When I was young I would have told you that I would be a famous singer by the time I was twenty-three.”

“What happened?” He asks

“Arranged marriage, having a kid, life. Just to name a few.” I sarcastically reply then shrug my shoulders. Just then the waiter brought our food over and we thanked him.

“I would love to hear you some time.” He says making me blush.

“So, what happens if the vendors don’t have an up to date license?” I change the subject as I take a bite of the spicy chicken taco.

“I have the authority to shut them down and confiscate their pets. Although I’ve only had to do that once.” He laughs “The guy was trying to sell some Fwooper’s without the silencing charms.”

“I’m sure that was fun.”

“We had to wear these awful ear muffs and stun a few customers that were running around like a crazed lunatic.”

I laughed hard now. “That’s awful. I don’t know why I’m laughing.”

“I like it.” He smiles making me blush.

“Do you miss working with the dragons?”

“I miss the adventure and danger, but I decided that I couldn’t be without my family after the war.” He shrugs “I go back occasionally to help out with a new dragon or when a hatchling is hurt.”

“I bet baby dragons are adorable.”

“Pretty cute, but they could scald you pretty hard if they wanted to.” He points to this forearm where a red burn mark was. He quickly changed the subject once he saw my reaction to the burn. “So, who has your son right now?”

“Eliza.” I reply “She’s sort of like a mom to me. She took us in after we got away…”

“Got away?”

“I mean.” My stomach churns “Left that life behind.”

“So, she just took you in? You didn’t know her first?”

“Oh yeah I did. She was a friend of my mothers for many years before my mom married my dad.” I shrugged my shoulders “I had only met her once before, when I was little. She recognized me the second she opened her door and hasn’t turned me away since.”

“Why did you leave? Don’t you miss your life?” I was freak out a little in my mind, trying to come up with something to say, but instead I just swallowed and looked away. He touched my hand gently. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No. You didn’t….” I lied “Its just not a part of my life I ever want to think of again. I left nothing important or anyone special behind.” I took a deep breath.

Charlie stared at me and I knew that he didn’t know how to respond to my statement. He hastily took a sip of water then a bite of food.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled “I don’t like to talk about it.”

“Understandable. I’ll try to avoid that topic of conversation.” He smiled at me before taking my hand and rubbing my palm with his thumb. “Maybe in time you will tell me about it, I won’t push it though.”

“Thanks.” I reply as I wipe my mouth with my napkin. All of my apatite was gone now. I take a sip of water before changing the subject once more. “So, what’s your family like?”

“Crazy.” He replies with a smile “Mom and Dad have been together for decades. Married for thirty years now.”

“Impressive.” I nod. “And the rest?”

“Well the oldest of the bunch is William, but we all call him Bill. He’s my best friend, we tell each other everything.” He smiles at some memory “Then me, handsome, charming…”

“Yaya.” I tease as I wave my hand at him. “I’ve seen better.”

He laughs “Then Percy, he’s a bookworm and the black sheep. Every family has one of those. Followed by the Twins which you already met.” I nod “Then Ron who was an important person in the war.”

Ron Weasley

The name did ring a bell

“The youngest is Ginny. She’s engaged to the most important wizard in history.” He laughs “The one and only Harry Potter.”

“Harry Potter? As in the boy who lived?” Everyone knew that name. Even someone who wasn’t allowed to leave the house for two whole years.

“The very one. When I said Ron was an important person, I meant that he is Harry’s best friend.”

“Wow. You have a very interesting family.” I laughed at the thought of meeting Harry Potter. “Much better than mine.”

I can’t be dating a guy that is this close to Harry Potter?

They can't find out about my death eater ties.

“All families are different. What were yours like before…?”

“My mom was amazing, the perfect mom. We baked cookies, went to parties, danced in the living room, even gossiped a little.” My smile faded once I thought of her dying. “My dad was always strict and controlling. Most pure bloods are, but he really wanted to make a statement.” I took a sip of water “He was rarely around when I was growing up. He was either at business meetings or…”

 Meetings with Death Eaters

“Just not around. After my mom died, he got even worse.” I swallow loudly thinking of how cruel and mean he was to me. In some ways worse than my so-called husband. “He did make me go to etiquette school during the summers between the ages of twelve and seventeen.”

“So, you are a proper young lady?” He pretends to tip his imaginary hat.

“Why yes sir.” I pretend to curtsey “I can sew, cook, play guitar, piano and sing, speak French and German, and tell you which fork is for salad.” I laugh “The rest of the lessons didn’t stick. To be honest I can’t remember most of my German lessons. I am pretty fluent in French though.”

He laughs “My brother Bill’s wife has Veela blood, and she speaks French. I’m sure she would love to have someone to speak to, and I would like to have someone tell me what she mutters about me under her breath.” He winks. “I’m sure it’s nothing nice.” He laughs.

“Is this your way of hinting at a double date?” I ask sarcastically

“Yeah. I guess it is.” He places his napkin on the plate in front of him “So?”

I shouldn’t go

Say no, Eva

“Sure.” I reply, internally kicking myself. "Let me know when."

“Awesome.” He smiles “They also have a daughter named Victorie, She just turned three. I’m sure her and Ian would get along really well.”

“No doubt.” I laugh “Especially if she has the Veela blood as well.”

“She is a pretty little thing.” Charlie smiles

I glance at the clock on the wall to my left then stand abruptly. “I really must be going. I have to get to work in a half hour.”

“I’ll see you soon?” He asks.

“Soon.” I reply as I steal a passionate and quick kiss before rushing out of the restaurant.


	9. A Friend

It was only noon, and I was already wanting to go home and cuddle on the sofa with Ian. So far today, I had hit my head on an open cupboard door, dropped a stack of books on my foot, cut my hand with a knife as I was opening a box, and ripped a hole in the butt of my favorite jeans. So, I had a headache, foot ache, sore hand and I was forced to wear my sweater wrapped around my waist to hide the hole showing off my polka dot underwear.

I grumbled loudly as I sat at the breakroom table, taking a sip of my coffee, burning my tongue. “Can today get any worse?” I shouted into the air.

Lucas laughed as he sat across from me. “I’ve never seen anyone have this bad of luck in one day.”

“Did you break a mirror or something?” Abby says as she sits down next to me.

“No.” I rolled my eyes “Mother nature decided that she hates me.”

“For today at least.”  Abby teases “Maybe you should go home.”

I looked over to Lucas. “I don’t want you breaking anything here.” He smiles “Go home. Take some time to relax.”

“You sure? I could just stay in the stock room…”

“Eva. Go home.” He cuts me off. “You have been working non-stop for weeks now. Besides you are working overtime as it is, and I need to cut some more hours.”

I grumble again “But I need the money.”

“You need sleep more.” Lucas snaps at me

“We’ve got everything covered around here. Its not a busy day. To be honest only one of us is needed here anyway.” Abby smiles as she hands me my bag and water bottle.

“Thanks.” I stand up from the chair bumping into the table, spilling my coffee all over my lap. “Mother F…”

Lucas and Abby were cracking up laughing. “Please leave before you break anything else around here.” Lucas laughs.

I quickly clean up my lap before heading out the back door to the Alley where I apparate back to the house. I pull my wand out of my pocket, I may have wandless magic, but I was too tired to muster the energy needed to use it. Just as I begin to wave the wand in the air, an Owl swoops out of the sky and drops a letter at my feet.

“Who could be sending me a letter at this time of day?” I say to myself as I bend down to pick up the yellowish envelope.

Maybe Eliza

It wasn’t uncommon for her to have Ian draw me a picture and send it to me while I was at work.

I rip open the envelope, pulling out the small piece of paper inside. On the front my full name was written

Evianna Alanis Rosellini Carrow

I swallowed loudly and stood very still as I read the one-line hand written on the back.

You can’t hide Forever

At the bottom it was signed

“A FRIEND”

Just then another Owl swooped down, dropping a single white rose on the table beside me.

My heart pounded, my head spun, and my stomach felt nauseated. I sat in the metal chair and leaned my elbows on the table in front of me. Breathing heavily. Adonis made it a tradition to give me a single white rose whenever he visited my bedchambers.

Two to three times a year I would get a letter written just like that one. Eliza had assured me that Adonis couldn’t get out of Azkaban, and that the letters couldn’t be from him. The prisoners weren’t allowed to send or receive any sort of mail. They didn’t want the prisoners getting even the slightest bit of hope of escaping.

Who could the letters be from

I quickly apparated to the apartment, leaving the white rose sitting on the table where the Owl set it. I rushed through the door, past Ian and Eliza in the sitting room and threw myself on my bed.

“Eva.” Eliza appeared in the doorway “Eva what’s wrong?”

Without lifting my head from the pillow, I threw the letter toward her. I could tell the moment she read what was written, because she gasped.

“Not another one.” She breathed as she sat beside me on the bed, rubbing my back. “You haven’t gotten one in months.”

“Nine months…” I mumbled from the pillow as I turned over “I had forgotten all about them.” I sat up next to her, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. My eyes full of tears and my heart pounding in my ears.

“How many does this make now?” Eliza asks as she sets her hand on my leg and rubs gently.

Without saying a word, I stand up, walk over to the closet, take out an old shoe box and set it on the bed beside Eliza. “I have them all saved in here.” I say as I open the top and reveal the other letters.

“You’ve saved them?” Eliza looked at me in horror “I thought you would have gotten rid of them as soon as you received them.”

“I was planning on it, but ultimately decided to keep them. Just in case I can figure out who they are from.” I reply as flip the box over and the letters spill over the messy comforter. I counted them quickly. "Twelve...this makes twelve letters."

She picks one up reading it silently before tossing it back on the comforter. “Eva.” She whispers my name as I pick up a few of the notes and read them. Tears falling from my eyes as I read the one that made me completely break down the first time I saw it.

That child should be mine. He will be when you are dead.

I breath through the tears. “Who could be doing this? How do they know about the roses?”

Eliza looked at me like a little child who had just skinned their knees. She shook her head slowly. "I don't know."

I sat back on the bed, bringing my knees up to my chest and hugging them tightly, thinking back to the very first time I received the white rose from Adonis.

 

-Flashback-

 

I sat on the queen-sized bed in my chambers, quietly contemplating my situation. I couldn’t run, even if there was an escape he would find me. There was a single window in my room, and the chances of survival from jumping out of that window was slim. Even if I did escape with my life, I wouldn’t be unharmed.

It had been a week since my so-called wedding to Adonis, and even though he was handsome, with the figure of a model, he was pure evil. Just like the rest of the Carrow’s. He looked at me like a wolf looks at its prey before the wolf rips out its throat. My whole body shook whenever he was around. Our wedding night was anything but romantic. He used me for his own pleasure before tossing me to the side and forcing me to sleep on the hard marble floor.

A knock came from the door, and I stood up abruptly. “Yes.” I said as the door swung open. Adonis stood in the doorway with a smug grin. “Evianna.” He says my name as he steps inside the bedroom and glides over to me. “You look lovely today.” He smiles as he kisses me on the cheek. “Care for a walk in the garden?”

I stared at him for a moment wondering if I had been dreaming. “Yes. Thank you.” I responded as I took a hold of his hand with uncertainty. He led me silently down the staircase, through the sitting room, and out the side door where a small flower garden appeared.

“Your father informed me of your love for flowers, so I made this for you.” He waved his hand at the large flowering bushes. He was right, I had always loved flowers. I even created a garden back at my father’s house where I spent most of my time during the summers. “I hope you come to like it here.”

“It’s beautiful.” I mumble as I let go of his hand and step toward a small stone bench sitting in between two large flowering trees. There were all sorts of flowers that were enchanted to stay bloomed forever. We walked around the pathway for a moment before stopping in front of a large rose bush, full of pure white roses.

Adonis plucks one of the long stems from the bush, stabbing his thumb on a thorn. He didn’t seem fazed though, as if he didn’t have any feeling. “For you.” He places the rose in my hands gently.

“Thank you.” I reply with confusion.

He smiles then takes my hand and squeezes it tightly. The thorns stab my palm and I squirm. “Stop.” I shout, but he continues. Blood begins to pour from my hand, turning the rose a crimson red from the blood. “Let go.” I try to pull away, but the thorns dig in deeper. “Why are you doing this?” I squirm.

He smiles at me as he takes the top of the rose and pulls hard. The stem rips through my hand, severing my palm and causing it to bleed uncontrollably. “A reminder of how your life is now. One wrong move and you will be punished.”

I wrap my bloody hand in the edge of my shirt, holding it tight. “I didn’t do anything.” I say with tears in my eyes.

“And you shouldn’t ever defy me.” He mumbles, as he takes the rose and swings it across the air into my cheek. The thorns slash through my jawline, leaving thin bloody lines.

I look at him in utter disgust, as I place my good hand on my jaw.

He takes my chin in his strong hand and pulls me to him. Placing a forceful kiss on my lips. I pull away and he slaps me across the face where he had just sliced me.

“You are mine.” He growled as he kissed me again. “And you will give me whatever I wish.” His hand trails down my neck to the collar of my thin shirt. He yanks and the fabric tears away. My shoulder was bare now. He gently caressed my skin. Creating a line from my neck all the way down to my fingertips, then back up again. Stopping as he places his palm on my bloody jaw. His other hand snaked it’s way up my side underneath my shirt, stopping once he had reached my bra.  He rubbed his palm along the edge of the fabric before squeezing roughly. He smirked as he pulled his hand back quickly ripping my shirt in half as he did so. “You are my wife now, and I expect you to do your womanly duties.”

“And if I refuse?” I question as I step back covering myself with the torn fabric.

“You will receive worse than the thorns just gave you.” His facial expression didn’t even change as he looked to my bloody hand and face. “And I will take you anyway.”

“You are a monster.” I spat at him.

He slapped me across the face again, before taking my bloody hand in his and placing it on his jeans. “Feel that?” He winks. “He wants to come out and play.” I tried pulling my hand back, but he held me tight against him. “But not tonight. I will take you tomorrow once you are too weak to fight back. Think about that as you sleep out here tonight.”

“What?” I question still in shock from his statement. “I can’t sleep out…”

He waves his wand toward the sky and a large bubble appears above my head, covering the entire garden. “You have no hope of escaping without the use of magic.” He grins again and waves his wand at the beautiful flowers. They all die quickly, leaving nothing but dead shrubs and shriveled up petals. “It looks like rain.” He steps toward the back door, grabbing a hold of the handle. “Try not to get sick.” He steps inside the door as soon as a drop of rain falls from the sky.

I spent the entire night in the freezing rain, underneath a large tree. Although it was dead, it still provided some sort of cover from the rain. The next morning, once the rain had stopped, he came back outside. Standing above me again with a single white rose.

Soon I learned to despise roses.

-

I shivered at the memory and jumped once Eliza touched my shoulder gently. “Eva. Everything is alright. He cannot harm you anymore.” She smiled at me “Do you hear me?”

I nod my head “Yeah.” I whisper as she embraces me in a motherly hug.

“You are safe.” She reassures me. “He is being punished for his crimes in Azkaban. He is getting what he deserves.”

“Death is what he deserves.” I cry.

"And you deserve a life without him breathing the same air. A life where you and Ian don't have to hide." Eliza lets go of me and wipes the tears from my eyes. "He cannot stop you from living." She smiles "You can be happy." She gently traces the faded scars on my jawline before placing a kiss on my cheek. "You have people who love you now. Remember that."

A tear falls from my eyes as I look down to the comforter, beside me were the letters. One in particular called to my eyes.

You destroyed my life. Your blood will stain my hands forever.

“A FRIEND”


	10. Double Date

Charlie and I met outside of the restaurant where we planned to meet up with Bill and Fleur for dinner. I was a little anxious. It had been a long time since I’d met any of my boyfriend’s family’s. Charlie held my hand tight and grinned at me. He assured me that Fleur and I would get along and that Bill would love me, I wasn’t so sure. I had gone through my entire closet before giving up and going to Sophie’s to borrow something from her. She gave me a cute knee length black dress with white and pink flowers all over it. She was a little shorter than me, so the dress came mid-thigh on me.

A little higher than I liked to wear. By the fifth time of tugging the dress down, Charlie turned to me. “You look beautiful. Stop fiddling with the dress.”

I rolled my eyes at him and smiled “Thanks, its just a little short.”

“I like it just the way it is.” He kissed me on the cheek.

It was a good five to ten minutes before the couple arrived. Fleur was just as I imagined her, and how Charlie described her. She was tall and willowy, she had long, silvery-blonde hair that fell almost to her waist, large, deep blue eyes, and fair skin tone. She wore a knee length blue dress that fit her perfectly. She was breathtakingly beautiful, which made me even more nervous. Bill on the other hand was nothing like Charlie had described him. Bill was tall, thin, handsome, and had red hair like the rest of the Weasley family. He wore it long and, in a ponytail, and he had an earring with a fang dangling from it. His face was severely wounded, I assumed from the werewolf attack that Charlie told me about.

Charlie introduced us, and I shook their hands formally before we entered the restaurant and took our seats. This place serves Italian food. It is a small and comfortable place located in downtown London. In it is safe, calm and relaxed place.

“So how are things?” Charlie asks Bill

“Good. We’re just finishing up the renovations at Shell Cottage. Should be done soon.” Bill replied as the waitress brought us all menus and water. The menu has pictures of delicious food like spaghettis, lasagna and amazing looking pizza.

“Did you add on that extra bedroom?”

“Oui.” Replies Fleur  

Bill looks at me and smiles. “Charlie says you speak French.”

“Oui.” I answer. “The language of love.” Fleur’s face lights up.

“Yes. Yes.” She replies with a large smile. “Fluently?”

“Yes. I took lessons for many years.” I confirm speaking in French now. “Now we can talk about the boys without them knowing.” I say then Fleur cracks up laughing.

“It would be nice to have someone to talk to in my mother tongue.” She replies. “Bill knows a little, but not enough to carry on a conversation.” She takes a sip of water and smiles at me. “The Weasley men have good taste in women.”

I laugh at her statement “Yes.” I smile, and my nerves settle a little.

“We’ve lost them for the night.” Charlie jokes as he looks between us girls who look like we’ve just found our new best friend. He places his hand on my thigh under the table and smiles at me.

“So, I hear you have a son?” Bill asks looking at me.

“Yes. He’s four years old, and you have a daughter, right?”

“Yes.” Fleur replies. “She is three.”

“And you were married before?” Bill looks at me like he is interrogating a criminal. “What happened there?”

I look over to Charlie then take a deep breath. “Yes, I was married.”

Still married actually

“He was taken during the war, when Ian was only two weeks old.”

“I’m very sorry.” Fleur smiles “That must have been difficult?”

Charlie squeezes my leg knowing how uncomfortable I am at talking about this. “My whole world changed that day.” I say with a fake smile.

“Now she’s got me.” Charlie loosens the tension with a joke.

“She was better off alone.” Bill teases. “You should probably leave this guy before he sucks you in too deep.”

“I’ll think about it.” I laugh, and Charlie raises his eyebrows at me. “I might just have to.” I tease.

“Nah. I’ve got you hooked already.” He teases with a wink.

I roll my eyes sarcastically “I don’t get hooked easily. You gotta work harder for that Weasley.”

Fleur and Bill laugh at mine and Charlies banter. “A girl who can keep up with Charlie’s constant sarcasm.” Bill states and Fleur nods her head.

“How’s the Ministry treating you?” Bill cuts us off and asks Charlie, they begin talking about work. From what I was hearing, Bill was about to leave on a week-long mission to Rome. Something about a painting in the Louvre Museum in Paris. It seemed interesting.

“Charlie hasn’t been able to stop talking about you for weeks.” Fleur smiles, and we continue our conversation in French. “You like him? Yes?”

“He is truly amazing.” I reply while looking at the handsome man sitting next to me. “How is he with your daughter? I have yet to introduce him to my son.”

“The perfect uncle. He would make a wonderful father one day.” She replies with a smile, and I let out a deep breath. Her French was perfect.

Just as the waitress took our orders, I look over her shoulder and recognize a woman standing there with a young blonde man. She is tall, slim, and very pale, with blue eyes, and long blonde hair.

Narcissa Malfoy.

I squirmed in my seat and my heart began to pound in my chest. Narcissa and her husband attended my wedding to Adonis. Lucius worked with my father closely in his business endeavors, so he knew me well. I heard that Lucius was in Azkaban, and that Narcissa and their son had moved away from London. I had only met her once, but I couldn’t be sure that she would remember me or not.

Damnit. She can’t see me.

Hide, Eva, Hide.

I turn my face towards the window, from the angle Narcissa was sitting she couldn’t see me unless she turned around, but I could clearly see her. Well, the back of her head at least.

“Eva…” Bill’s voice startled me. “What do you do for fun?” he takes a sip of water

My eyes dart back to him and I fake a smile. “I don’t really have time for fun.” I shrug. “Between two jobs, and being a single mother, I really don’t do anything.” I look over to Charlie “To be honest the party I bumped into Charlie at, was the first one I’d been to in years.”

“Years?” Fleur’s accent made me smile. “That’s a long time. You are so young. We must get you out more.”

I nod my head. “I would love that, and Eliza wouldn’t mind watching Ian more.”

“Who’s Eliza?” Bill questions

“She was my mother’s friend before she married my father, and when the war was over I didn’t have anyone left so I went to Eliza and took us in.” I couldn’t help but think of the moment I saw Eliza after running away. The look of utter sadness and disgust was on her face as she looked me up and down. Stopping at every single bruise that covered my body. Not once has she made me feel sorry for myself.

“So, you don’t ave any family?” Fleur looks at me with a sorrowful expression.

I shake my head “Just me and Ian.” I respond as my eyes dart back over to Narcissa. The man sitting across from her was gazing over at our table, which made me incredibly nervous.

Charlie follows my stare and shakes his head “Malfoy.” He speaks the name, my heart skips a beat, and I gulp deeply.

Bill turns to look toward the man and Narcissa. “The ministry says they have Reformed, I don’t believe that one bit.”

“Someone that evil could never fully change.” Fleur voices up. “Draco maybe. He was alvays so nice to me at ‘ogwarts, but his mother…” She visibly shutters.

“She’s just as evil as Lucius.” Charlie grits his teeth.

“You know them?” Bill notices the look on my face as I continue to stare at the young man. “Draco and Narcissa?”

“Um. Yeah, I met her once.” I fiddle with my fork a little “Her husband and my father had some business dealings when I was younger.”

I guess that wasn’t a lie

“What did you father do, that he had dealings with Malfoy?” Bill was watching me intently now. “From what I hear Malfoy never had to work a day in his life.”

“My father specialized in Charms at MACUSA.” His job was to charm different metal objects like golden snitches and sneakoscopes. He specialized in charming weapons though. He always carried a dagger in his jacket pocket that was enchanted with a truth serum. One slice from the knife and you would be telling your dirtiest secrets. I learned all to well how that dagger worked. “I don’t know what his business with Malfoy was though. Father met with them a few times, even made me go with him to the Manor a couple of times. I was never permitted to sit in the conference room with them.”

“What did you do while you were there?” Bill asked.

“Bill, stop interrogating her please!” Charlie utters, and I smirk at him.

Thank you.

“So, what do you do?” I ask Fleur and she smiles.

“I ave a part time job at Gringotts, mostly filing papervork. The vest of my time I spend with Victorie.”  

“I know about your job at the tavern where you two met, but you mentioned another job?” Bill takes ahold of his wife’s hand and smiles at me.

“Oh yes.” I laugh “I work at the Secret Garden book store in London. It’s a muggle owned store.”

“Hermione would love you.” Bill says and Charlie laughs along.

“Who’s Hermione?” I ask and they all look around at each other.

“Everyone knows ‘Ermione.” Fleur replies. “One of ze golden trio.”

I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head “Never heard of her.” I smile “We didn’t know much about the war in America, only the main parts. Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, Voldemort, Dumbledore.” I named off a few of the people’s names I recognized. “Other than that, I have no clue about anyone important.”

“Zat is unfortunate.” Fleur sighs. “You missed out on much.”

“Our family will catch you up fast.” Bill smiles at Charlie. “We were all at the center of the war thanks to our brother and Harry.”

“Yes, Charlie told me about your brother Ron, and the fact that your sister Ginny is engaged to Harry Potter.”

“Lucky Ginny.” Fleur teases and Bill smirks at her.

“You got a better deal, love.” He winks at the beautiful woman. “I doubt Harry could satisfy your Veela side. Veela’s are ravenous in the bedroom.”

“Bill.” She smacks him, and I laugh. “Ze Veesley men are alvays this vay.”

I look over to Charlie and he smirks. “Yes, we are all quite insatiable.”

“Except for poor Ronald.” Bill jokes “Why else would Hermione leave him for Fred?”

“Fred is ze lucky one.” Fleur smiles

“Any man would be lucky to get with Hermione. Ron was an idiot to let her go.” Charlie takes a sip of water as the waitress returns and places our food in front of us on the table. A wide variety of pastas and pizza lay on the wooden table. I myself decided on the Fettuccini and broccoli.

We all bantered back and forth all throughout dinner which went rather well. Even though I couldn’t bring myself to eat much. The food was delicious, but my stomach was churning at the thought of someone recognizing me. Every once in a while, I looked toward Narcissa. She was too busy frustrating the blond man sitting across from her to notice me. Narcissa and Draco had only stayed for a drink. I tried my hardest not to look in their direction as they left the restaurant. Although I did notice his unhappy expression. Fleur and I had really hit it off, and Bill stopped interrogating me which helped me relax. They left shortly after ten o’clock, saying something about Victorie not wanting to spend the night at Nana and papa’s.

Charlie and I apparated back to his house in Brighton, which is less than an hour away from London. The inside of his home was modest. Three bedrooms, two bath and a decent sized kitchen. I sat on the sofa as Charlie brought me back a glass of wine. We sat and talked for a half hour before the wine had hit my head, making me a little sleepy. I yawned as Charlie told funny stories about his family, and poked fun at Percy and Ron.

I could feel myself falling for him with every word he spoke. I tried my hardest not to think about a life with him, but my mind kept going there.

“Eva. Would you stop looking at me like that.” Charlie says and I smile at him, knowing exactly how I was looking at him.

“Sorry.” I laugh as I stand up. “I really should be getting home. I have to work tomorrow.”

“The bookstore is open on a Sunday?” He questions.

I shake my head “No.” I say with a smile “But the Tavern is.”

“But you don’t have to be there until late in the afternoon, right?” I nod, and he grins “So you can stay for a little longer.” He pulls at my hand and I hesitantly sit back down on the sofa beside him. I sat there staring at him for a moment of alcoholic bliss before leaning in to him.

I didn’t know exactly when it happened, but our lips were suddenly locked with each other’s. His lips felt so gentle and warm, I felt my hands begin to slide up his chest and encircle his neck, as the kiss began to grow heavy. His hand slid from my face and tightened around my waist. I continued to kiss him hungrily wanting more. I felt myself being pushed backward until I was laying on the sofa with Charlie hovering over me. The kiss becoming more mind numbing by the second.

My right hand flowed onto the open skin of the back of his neck. My left hand began greedily undoing his shirt. Our lips parted then clasped onto one another once again with an adding of more pressure. I felt his hand slide over my cleavage and onto the fabric of my dress covering my stomach. He drew circles with his palm on my stomach and over my breasts as his other hand played with the dark curls of my hair.

My hand had finally unbuttoned his shirt completely and it was wide open. Revealing his toned chest and the tattoo that covered his heart. My hand slid up and down on his bare chest before running back up to his neck and to his ear. His hand slid lower and lower until it was at the edge of my dress on my thighs. I could feel his hand sliding underneath the fabric. He laid his pelvis on my legs and I felt his growing arousal. My mind suddenly panicked.

“We should stop.” I breathed as I pulled away from his passionate kisses. “I can’t do this right now.”

We were both breathing hard, but I felt him push himself up, so he was looking down at me. His red hair all a mess from my hands running through it. “Yeah.” He shakes his head and sits up where he was only a few moments before. “Too soon.”

“Yeah, a little bit.” I smile as I stand up from the sofa and straighten the dress out. “I should get going, before the wine messes with my mind anymore.”

“Okay.” He stands in front of me towering over me again, before leaning down and kissing me on the lips once more. My hand automatically falls on his bare chest and I could feel myself wanting to give in.

“Charlie.” I speak his name and he pulls back.

“You should go.” He clears his throat.

I laugh as I look up and down his muscular chest. Internally kicking myself. “Bye.” I wave as I hastily make my way out the door then apparating away.


End file.
